Mass Effect 2: Beauty and the Beast
by W.A.R1989
Summary: A hero is dead, but when the human colonies start disappearing, he is resurrected to fight an old enemy. Can he succeed, in a galaxy that has changed much in just two short years? Part 2 of a three part story. UPDATED FOR CORRECTIONS AND SOME NEW CHAPTERS.
1. Chapter 1: Rebirth of the Butcher pt1

Mass Effect 2: Beauty and the Beast

**Chapter 1: Rebirth of the Butcher Pt. 1**

_**Lazarus Project Files  
Name: **__Wayne Allen Shepherd  
__**Nationality:**__ African American/Japanese  
__**DOB: **__December 3, 2155  
__**DOD: **__January 21, 2183_

_**Summary: **__Shepherd was born on December 3, 2155 to John and Sakura Shepherd on Mindoir on the fringes of the Attican Traverse. When he was fifteen, the colony was raided by slavers. The entire settlement was razed and his friends and family were slaughtered. A passing Alliance patrol led by David Anderson rescued him, and later took him in._

_He joined with the Alliance military, joining the long and bloody campaign to rid the Skyllian Verge of batarian slavers and other criminal elements. The final battle came when Alliance forces laid siege to Torfan, a slaver base built miles below the surface of a desolate moon. The superiority of the human fleet was wasted in the assault on the underground bunker, but he led a corps of elite ground troops into the heart of the enemy base._

_Nearly three-quarters of his own squad perished in the vicious close-quarters fighting, a cost he was willing to pay to make sure not a single slaver made it out of Torfan alive__**.**_

_**Psychological Profile:**__ Ruthless to enemies, however loyal to people he consider friends. Has trouble with authority. Said loyalty to friends, can cause rash and reckless actions. However, can use loyalty to bend him to Cerberus goals. An incredible leader, his greatest strength is his ability to change strategies in middle of combat._

_**Combat class:**__ Sentinel _

_**Summary: **__Somewhat difficult to control, but his leadership, and combat ability are top and his ability to think on the fly and under pressure is an asset, although how to gain his trust, will require the right people, been in talks with Karin Chakwas and Jeff 'Joker' Monroe to get them to join, other than that, he is an above average candidate for Project Lazarus._

_Project Lazarus will now begin-Miranda Lawson_

It was dark, all he could see was darkness, he scared, deathly afraid. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he was enjoying a nice rest with his quarian girlfriend, and they were attacked by an unknown enemy, he told everyone to get to the pods, and then went to rescued his pilot, but he got spaced, and the last thing he saw was his beloved ship, the ship that helped destroyed Sovereign destroyed as he suffocated in space.

"Welcome, Shepherd" a voice said. Shepherd looked around, his eyes went wide, it was a face that he shouldn't see.

"No..you..should be…" Shepherd said in horror.

"Dead?" he said with a smirk. Saren's form was at first obscured by the shadows, but then as he got closer, his body looked ravaged. He skin and muscle was gone, and only bone and his implants remained. He looked like when Sovereign possessed him, but only with no red glow this time. Shepherd glared at him.

"What are you doing here, Saren?!" he asked. "You should be dead, I killed you!"

"Yes, I should and I am" Saren said. Shepherd was taken aback at how eerily calm he was at being dead, but then he had sinking feeling why. Shepherd swallowed hard, bracing himself for the answer.

"W-what do you mean?" Shepherd asked.

"Welcome to the land of the dead, Shepherd" Saren said. Shepherd's eyes grew wide.

"I…I'm…" He started. Saren gave a cruel smirk.

"Dead" he said. "How does it feel to know that all your efforts were for nothing?"

"I…" Shepherd said. "It's not over, not yet"

"Oh but it is" Saren said. "You were the only one that gave the galaxy hope, against the reapers, without you all will burn, your race, your friends, and the one most important to you" Images of the galaxy burning entered his mind, people dying or being taken by the geth, he friends getting killed one by one. And Tali…he imagines her screams as she is slaughtered by the reapers.

"NO!" he shouted as he rushed the turian. He had Saren by the throat, he knew nothing would happen, but in his desperate mind he had to do something and did the only thing he could do: lash out. Saren, however was unfazed, in fact he was amused. He laughed.

"Enjoy eternity, Shepherd, spirits know I will" Saren disappeared. Shepherd drifted through the darkness aimlessly in despair, all he knew, all he cares for would be wiped out, and there would be nothing he could do.

"You mustn't give up Shepherd" a warm voice said. Shepherd looked behind him and saw an older asari, an older asari he recognized.

"Benezia…" he gasped. Benezia smiled.

"Thank you for freeing me from Sovereign's control" She said. "You must not give up'' Shepherd could only laugh bitterly, there was no escape from this hell. The spectre could only think death had made her crazy like Saren, like he soon will be.

"In case, you haven't notice I'm dead, that's the only reason I can you" Shepherd said.

Benezia smiled. "You must keep your hope alive Shepherd, the galaxy has its ways" she said. Another voice spoke out.

"She's right you know" Shepherd look around and saw a familiar friend. Tears started to run down his face as he went and hugged the woman and the woman hugged him back. "Long time no see, Skipper"

"Ash…" he said. "I'm so…" Ash released him from the embrace and shook her head.

"Don't, I don't regret any thing" she said. "But enough about me, It's not your time yet"

"What?" Shepherd asked. "I don't…" All of a sudden he felt a sensation, and the darkness was starting become washed away. A beam of light started to surround him. "What's happening?!"

"Shepherd, calm yourself, your role is not done yet" Benezia said. "You're truly blessed, not many get to have a second chance…"

"Second chance?" he asked. Ash smirked and came close to Shepherd.

"She's right, you still got to kick the reapers' sorry ass out of our galaxy, it has to be you" she said. "But before you leave…" Ash kissed Shepherd on the lips.

Shepherd blushed. "Ash! You know I have a girlfriend!" he said. Ash smiled.

"Like, you're going to remember this" she said. "Good luck, skipper, be good to her, big sister's watching" Shepherd started to feel a pull, and Benezia and Ash started to move away as everything turned to white.

"Wake up, Commander" a voice said. A rumble shook him awake. "Shepherd, do you hear me? Get out bed now- this facility is under attack." Shepherd got up only to fill a sharp pain on his side, he looked around. He was in a lab, all white. He then looked on the walls and saw a gold symbol; it looked familiar, but couldn't put his finger on it. The intercom opened again and the same voice spoke again only more demanding. "Your scars aren't healed, but I need you to get up now"

"A bit bossy, aren't you?" He asked annoyed.

"How about you complain when you get off the station hmm?" the voice said also annoyed. Shepherd could hear the sounds of battle. "There's a pistol and armor in the locker, hurry" Shepherd got out bed and moved to the locker and equipped his armor and pistol.

"Hey, uh, voice lady, there's no ammo in this" Shepherd said.

"Get it off the desk and move your ass" she said. Shepherd rolled his eyes. He was suddenly knocked off his feet by an explosion.

"Damn, my head" He then saw three legs come in, Shepherd looked up and saw they were mechs. Must have been new models, because he never seen a biped mech before. The intercom opened.

"Damn they're here, Shepherd press one of the buttons on your omni-tool, hurry" She said. The robots took aim and fired.

"Shit" he said as he pressed his omni-tool. A gold energy armor suit enveloped him and the bullets bounced off him. Shepherd smirked. "Fuck yeah" he said. The robots aimed again and Shepherd rolled backwards and on to his feet. Shepherd glowed blue and with a small sweep of his arms he blew back at the droids with powerful throw, so powerful that caused a small dent crack against the window. Shepherd looked at his hand in awe, he's always been a somewhat good biotic, but his biotics was now at least Vanguard class. A rumble shook him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Someone is hacking security trying to kill you" the voice said.

Shepherd scoffed. "Thank you, miss obvious, but why?"

She sighed. "I don't know" the voice said. "But keep moving, you need to get to the shuttles"

"Don't have to tell me twice" he muttered. He walked out of the room only to be met with more mechs. "Nice…"

"Don't take any chances, Stay in…" Shepherd rushed the mechs and blasted them with warps fields. "…cover" One of the mechs aimed and fire, but Shepherd turned on the balls of his feet and blast it was a throw field that took off the mech's head. Shepherd felt amazing, he had never been this fast.

"Hey, voice lady, what other goodies does this thing have?" he asked.

"It has a cryro blast function, but Shepherd, what you did was…" she said.

"Got it" he activated his omni-tool and pointed it at the nearest droid. The robot froze instantly. Shepherd smirked. "Hot damn…" Shepherd threw a throw field and shattered the droid. More came into the room, Shepherd then used his singularity to lift the enemies.

"How…?" the voice started. Shepherd blasted the droids with a warp field and went upstairs. Everywhere he saw was carnage and bodies, the wall were burned and covered with blood.

"Hey, voice lady, you seeing this?" he asked.

"Yes…" she said.

"Good, be careful out there" Shepherd said.

"Right..." she said. Shepherd picked up a heavy weapon on the floor and went downstairs. As he went through the base, he saw people gunned down by heavy mechs. Entering the next room, Shepherd saw a dark-skinned on a bridge area, fighting a group of mechs standing on another small bridge at the other side of the room. He went to help.

"Shepherd?" he asked.

"Hold that thought" Shepherd said. Shepherd blasted the mechs with his heavy weapon causing explosions. "So who are you?" he asked.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were a work in progress" he said.

"Look pal; don't know where I am or how I got here, plus my head feels like an overripe melon ready to split over. How 'bout some answers?" he asked annoyed.

"Damn…I forgot this is all new to you, sorry about that" he said. "I'm Jacob Taylor…I've been stationed here for…" They then heard an elevator come down and more mechs came out.

"Hostiles detected" a mech said as it fired.

"Damn it" Jacob said as he went to cover and shot mech's head.

"Nice shot" he said.

"Things must be dire if Miranda awoke you" Jacob said. Shepherd looked at him.

"Miranda?" he asked.

"The woman on the intercom" he explained. "Is she…?"

"She's fine" he said. Jacob sighed breath of relief.

"Good, we should finish these guys and then get to her" he said.

"It's your station, Jacob, I'll follow you" Shepherd said. Shepherd and Jacob went into battle.

_**Ladies and Gentlemen, the first chapter of Part 2 I hoped you enjoy and follow me for more of Shepherd's adventures, comment and reviews are welcomed.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Rebirth of the Butcher pt2

**Chapter 2: Rebirth of the Butcher pt.2**

Shepherd was absolutely livid, he couldn't believe this. After the battle Jacob, told him everything, he was dead for two years, and the worst part was that he now owed his life to Cerberus of all people, to terrorists. As they made their way to the shuttle and hopefully Miranda, more and more mechs was in his way, but he mowed them down only to keep his mind off of what Jacob said.

"Maybe you should slow down, you'll tire yourself out" Jacob said. Shepherd did not answer.

"Don't think he's listening" Wilson said.

"I don't blame him…" Jacob muttered. As the team went upstairs to the shuttle bay they were met with more mechs, Wilson and Jacob got their weapons out, but Shepherd trapped them all in stasis fields and blasted them with the last of his missiles.

"Let's go..." Shepherd said. Wilson and Jacob just looked at him as he walked away.

Wilson whistled. "I see those four billion credits was worth it" he said. Jacob looked at him.

"Shut it, Wilson" He said. Although he had to agree. The team made to the shuttle door with Wilson ahead. He opened it and a woman came through, she was beautiful with long dark flowing hair and piercing blue eyes. If it wasn't for the fact she Cerberus and a potential enemy, she could be mistaken for a model. She wore a tight white catsuit, with dark high heel boots. Sexy, yes, but practical for combat no.

Wilson paled. "Miranda, but you were…" Miranda gave Wilson a murderous gaze and shot him. Wilson fell dead. Shepherd instantly raised his weapon at the woman.

"Dead?" she said. Jacob glared at the woman.

"Miri, what the hell?!" he asked. Shepherd raised a brow at him. _'Miri? Just how close are they?'_ Shepherd thought.

Miranda put her weapon away and crossed her arms. "I was doing my job, the little weasel betrayed us" she said simply.

"How do you know that? We had known Wilson for years." Jacob said. Miranda rolled her eyes.

"As long of a time as you've known me, how many times have I been wrong?" she asked. Jacob was about say something, but shut up. Miranda gave a smug smirk. "Thought so" Shepherd cautiously put his gun away never taking his eyes off the woman. Despite being Cerberus, Jacob had been straight with Shepherd , so far, and the voice lady now revealed as Miranda had helped him get to this point. There was a reason the brought him back, he wanted to know what that was.

"So, what now? Because I need answers, like now" Shepherd said. "I know you work for Cerberus" Miranda sighed and looked at Jacob.

"You and your guilty conscience…" she said annoyed.

Jacob crossed his arms. "I don't stab people in the back, you know that" he said. "You won't get him on our side like that"

"I'm not on your side, but I'll listen, but this better be good" Shepherd said walking to the shuttle.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that" Miranda said. Jacob smirked and walked past Miranda.

"See, sometimes my way works too" he said. Miranda scoffed and followed them in the shuttle.

During the shuttle ride from Lazarus station to another Cerberus facility, Miranda asked Shepherd to questions about the past, much to Shepherd's annoyance. Jacob found the exercise unnecessary, to which Shepherd had to agree. They arrived in the facility; it was time to meet this so-called Illusive Man. The base they were standing in was nothing special, a few desks, a few computers. The spectre was quite surprised at it being this simple; he was expecting something more extravagant befitting the leader of Cerberus. Shepherd went down the only path that was there and went downstairs, only to see an empty room. "Is this a joke?!" he yelled.

"You have to walk forward" Jacob said. "See that circle in the center of the room?" Shepherd frowned at him, wasn't sure if this was just a trap.

Miranda crossed her arms. "It's safe, why would we spend four billion credits to bring you back only to kill you again?" she asked annoyed. Shepherd walked slowly to the center of the room. A column of light surrounded Shepherd. He could see a middle-aged man wearing a fancy suit sitting on a chair, behind him was a sun, the man looked at him with cold mechanical eyes no doubt implants.

"Shepherd" he simply said.

"Illusive Man" Shepherd responded back with crossed arms. "I thought we would be meeting face to face."

"A necessary precaution, Cerberus has many enemies" he said.

Shepherd scoffed. "Being terrorists tends to do that" he said with venom.

"You may not like our methods, but we are ultimately on the same side" he said. "You know why."

"The reapers" Shepherd growled. "Out with it, what do you know?"

"Straight to the point, I like it" Illusive man said. "Human colonies are disappearing in the Terminus Systems."

"How do you know it was the reapers?" Shepherd asked. "It could be just slavers"

"Slavers don't leave ghost towns behind" Illusive man said. "Plus there were no signs of conflict; it was almost like they just left"

"Why hasn't the Alliance or the Council done anything?" Shepherd asked angrily. Illusive Man sighed.

"The covered up everything about the reapers, all you efforts was for nothing, I'm afraid." He said. Shepherd blinked.

"What?!" he said outraged. He couldn't believe it, after he went through, all the danger, and sacrifices, they swept it under the rug, if the reapers came tomorrow, they would be wiped out, and the only ones taking it seriously was group of terrorists. It was like a bad joke, he knew he had to do, but it would be everything he was taught and what he was for. Shepherd sighed. "What do I have to do?" he asked.

"We need evidence on what is doing this and how to prevent it." TIM said. "Go to Freedom's Progress, it the latest colony to disappear, you may find something."

Shepherd scoffed. "Is this a volunteer job, or is it an order?" he asked. TIM smirked.

"You always have a choice, Shepherd" he said. "If you don't have evidence, well you're free to go"

Shepherd crossed his arms. "I find it hard to believe there are no strings attached" he said.

"Please, Shepherd, as much as you may hate Cerberus, don't insult me, I'm man of my word" he said.

"Yeah, so was Lucifer, right before taking someone's soul" he said walking out of the room. Jacob and Miranda met with him, almost waiting intently for his orders. He still didn't know if he could trust them, but he would have to worry about that later.

"So, what's the plan?" Jacob asked.

"We go to Freedom's Progress, and find evidence of what has made the colony disappear" Shepherd said. Jacob and Miranda nodded." Move out"

As Shepherd heads to the colony, little did he know someone important to him was already heading there.

_**Tali**_

"_Wayne!"_

"_Damn it, I really loused things up this time…"_

"_No! Hang on; we're coming to get you!"_

"_Rookie stay back! The enemy is still here, I won't let you throw your life away!"_

"_But…!"_

"_I need you to live, Rookie, live and get that data to your people…I'm just sorry I won't be there with you…"_

"_No…please…"_

"_Tali…I…only have a few seconds of air left….I have to say this, before…it's too late. I love you…from the bottom of my heart…."_

"_Wayne….?"_

"…"

"_WAYNE!"_

Tali's eyes instantly opened as the VI alert message woke up to a cold sweat. Tali looked around her surroundings; she was within a shuttle, sitting in the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit. Her second-in-command, Prazza, sat in the pilot's seat, attentively observing the ship's systems. She looked out the window stroking her necklace, as a feeling a melancholy washed over her. It had been two years since Wayne Allen Shepherd, her captain, her first love died on the original Normandy. Since then the only time she has seen Shepherd was in her dreams or rather her nightmares.

Since then, she's been a productive member of the Migrant Fleet. She gave her gift to the Admiral of her choice and changed her name. She was now Tali'Zorah vas Neema, of the warship Neema, and a legend of the fleet, the young quarian who had braved dangers to give her people data on the geth, her people's humiliation. Everywhere she met, was greeted with praises for young quarians and old quarians, she even the attention of her father, even if it was for missions. But all that was hollow without Shepherd, life was hollow, the time she spent on the Normandy was one of the best times of her life, so many friends she made on that ship. While she knew it would have to end at some point, she just wished it didn't like it did.

"Approaching Freedom's Progress"'

_**Shepherd**_

"You okay, Commander?" Jacob asked. The spectre looked at him and then the window. Shepherd was silent throughout the flight looking in the window, not at the stars, but at his own reflection, his face. He could see the orange-red lights of the cybernetics used to rebuild his face, as he looked, a feeling of self-hatred washed over him. Tali came to Shepherd's mind, he knew of her hatred of synthetics, mostly because of the geth who took everything from her people. He knew she had survived the Normandy, and wanted to call her, but stopped. He didn't know how she would react to him being alive, would she embrace him or would she reject him as a fraud? Would she see him as the man she fell in love with or would she him as an abomination similar to Saren? All those questions, and no answers, this scared him shitless. "Commander?"

"I'm fine," he finally answered still staring at his reflection. "It's only now starting to really sink in. Everyone thinks I'm dead and moved on...how do you cope with that?"

"Sorry, we'll arrive at Freedom's Progress shortly. Maybe some fresh air will help you feel better." Jacob said trying to help.

"Doubtful," Miranda said bluntly "It's just mental stress. With your psychological profile you'll be fine, with time." Jacob palmed his face.

Shepherd glared at her. "Just some 'mental stress'?! I lost two years of my fucking life!" he shouted. Jacob got up between them.

"Commander, please calm down, Miri, chill, now" Jacob said. Shepherd scoffed and went back to concentrating on his reflection on the window. Miranda went back to read the mission data. Jacob breathed a sigh of relief.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the shuttle began to shake and rumble loudly. "We've entered the planet's atmosphere," Miranda informed, "We'll land in Freedom's Progress shortly."

"Good I need something to kill" Shepherd said.


	3. Chapter 3: Love at Freedom's Progress

**Chapter 3: Love at Freedom's Progress**

_**Tali**_

"We've made touchdown" Ali said. The Quarians were on Freedom's Progress. The colony wasn't nothing special; however it was empty, eerily empty. One of the Quarians, went and scanned the area.

"Any signs of life?" Tali asked. Ali shook her head as she walked back to the group. Ali'Quran vas Hala was the second female of the group, and a genius navigator due to coming from a family of helmsmen and pilots. However despite, her genius, she came across as cold, according to her dossier she was a loner, rare among the usually sociable Quarians.

"No, it seems this colony have been empty for about a month" she said.

"A human colony, that's been empty for a month, why hasn't the Alliance investigated?" Tali asked. Prazza then spoke up.

"Who cares what happens to a bunch of humans? It's a waste of time thinking about it" he said. Tali glared at him. Prazza'Reegar vas Moreh, youngest son of the famed Reegar clan, and an absolute pain in Tali's ass. Before she came on as leader of the team, Prazza was the leader of this team, he never forgave Tali for taking his position, so he fought with her and questioned her every orders. "What's with that look, Zorah? Don't tell me you care about them." Tali came up to him and punched him hard in the stomach.

"Watch your mouth, bosh'tet, they risked everything to save us two years" she hissed. "You will not disrespect them understood?"

Prazza got off the ground and glared at her. "Yes ma'am" he said.

"Do you think Veetor is alive?" Tam asked. Tam'Yala vas Tonbay, was the team strategist and thankfully the most reasonable of the group, due to Tali and Prazza's short tempers, and Ali's stoic nature, he was the one to keep the team from killing each other, a job that annoyed him to no end. Tali look at him.

"I don't know, but we will need to find out." She said. Ali spoke up.

"Ma'am, we have a shuttle incoming, identified as Cerberus" she said. Tali and team looked at her.

"What would Cerberus be doing here?" Tam said.

"Probably, finishing what they started." Prazza said.

"Cerberus, is pro human, why would they attack a human colony?" Tali asked annoyed.

"Human are capable of anything, just look at Idena" he said. Tali got in his face.

"Just because a group of humans attacked us, doesn't mean they're all bad." She growled.

"Says the human lover" Prazza shot back. Tam looked at Ali, who as usual was uninterested in the spat between Tali and Prazza and sighed as he walked up and got between them.

"We need to think of a plan of action soon," he said. Tali and Prazza looked at them and then at each other and turned their backs to each other, there were peace at least for now. Prazza then walked over to Ali.

"Ali, get up a map of this colony." Prazza said. "This building is surrounded by mechs and a Cerberus shuttle is landing nearby, so we'll just hack those mechs to keep them busy"

"Finally something smart to come out of your mulut for once" Tali said. Tali and her team with to the area and hacked the mechs. "Leave the mechs in subdue mode, I don't to give Cerberus anymore reasons to attack us, let's move" Tali and team moved Prazza however stayed behind with mechs.

"Those bosh'tets deserve more than that" he muttered. He opened his omni-tool and set the mechs to 'kill'. With a smug look on his face, Prazza caught up with Tali.

_**Shepherd**_

The shuttle flew over the now abandoned human colony of Freedom's Progress, quickly descending unto a clear area and landing. As its engines powered down, its side door opened and from it emerged Shepherd, Miranda, and Jacob. It was night-time on the colony, and an unsettling, eerie sensation hung in its cool, dry air. It was strange to see a colony that looked so lived-in to be completely devoid of all signs of life, the team stood at attention and assumed whatever caused this was still here in some form. Instead the hustle and bustle of people from this colony, there was quiet, in fact the only noise that could be heard aside Shepherd and his team's footsteps were the low, subtle hum of machines turning on. It wasn't long before the quiet was suddenly replaced by the ferocious roaring of gunfire.

The team went into cover as they saw mech coming out-of-door firing at the team Miranda overloaded the mech's shields and Shepherd lifted the with his singularity field. Jacob finished it with a throw field. More mechs were coming, including the dog-like mech called the FENNR, they were especially dangerous as they could knock them out of cover for the LOKI mechs to get a clear shot. "Stand down, I'll handle this" Shepherd got out the heavy weapon, the arc projector. As the lightning-like bolt hits its first target, more targets were hit until, entire enemy strike team a fell down.

Shepherd kissed his weapon. "Where were you when I was fighting Saren?" he asked with a smirk.

Miranda cleared her throat. "Need a room?" She asked annoyed. She then looked at Jacob, who examined the destroyed mechs. "What is it?"

"Why did those mechs attack us? We're human" he said.

"Reprogrammed" Miranda said.

Shepherd frowned. "Do you think what reprogrammed the mechs also, made the colony disappeared?"

"There's a chance" she said.

"Let's keep moving" Shepherd said. The team stepped deeper into the colony, slowly and carefully looking around for clues, they moved into the next building was met with a surprising sight. Three Quarian marines stood up and aimed their weapons at the three intruders. He then heard the sound of guns being activated and saw Miranda and Jacob had their weapons out also. "Stop right there!"

"Quarians?" Shepherd said in surprise.

"What are quarians doing here? You don't think they're responsible for the missing colonists, do you?" Jacob whispered.

"Quarians tend to keep to themselves, and there have been no records of their fleet being anywhere near the attacked colonies." Miranda said. "Still can't be too careful…" It was bad the tension was so thick, but then another voice rang out.

"Prazza, you said you would let me handle this!" Tali moved herself between Prazza and the Cerberus agents. She glanced at the intruders. Her eyes widen. The person in the middle was Shepherd. "Wait! Wayne?"

Shepherd immediately recognized who the Quarian before him was. It was the woman he loved. Tali. He looked up and down her body, it wasn't the same slender body from two years ago, her body was more toned, her voice was a little deeper, and sexier than before, if that was even possible. Shepherd couldn't help but admire Tali's new suit, it was similar to her old suit, except it was much heavily armored with a gold trim around the neck, and a decorative purple veil draped across her helmet. It was beautiful.

"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus agents!" he bellowed.

"Put those weapons down!" she ordered. Tali looked back at Shepherd in disbelief. It looked just like him, and not only that he didn't age one bit, he looked the same as he did when he died two years ago. And now he was with Cerberus. "Wayne... Is that...You're alive?"

Shepherd gave a slightly sad smile and took a small step forward. It was enough to make the Quarian marines to tense up and slightly raise their weapons. "Remember that geth data I gave you? Did it help you finish your Pilgrimage, Rookie?"

Tali fought hard to hold back her tears. It was really him, only Shepherd called her rookie. She composed herself, she couldn't look weak at in front of her team, "Yes... It did. Prazza put away your weapons. This is definitely Commander Shepherd."

Prazza scoffed at lovers' reunion. " "What's he doing with Cerberus?"

"I-I don't know," she said. "Maybe we should ask." Tali looked to the Commander begging for a good excuse in her mind. She knew Shepherd, he was just as disgusted by their experiments as her and the rest of the team were, there had to be a good reason, there just had to be.

Shepherd looked down. "I…I didn't have a choice. I nearly died, Tali. Cerberus spent the last two years rebuilding me. In return they want me to look into these colony disappearances."

It was all she needed to know. "Maybe we can work together. We are looking for a young Quarian named Veetor." Tali's team looked at her.

"Isn't it odd for a Quarian to come to a remote human colony?" Shepherd asked.

"Quarians can go to where they want for their Pilgrimage. Veetor liked the idea of helping a small colony. He was always nervous around crowds." Tali explained.

"She means he was unstable," Prazza interrupted. "Combine that with a damaged CO2 scrubber and he's likely delirious."

"Alright, I'll help you, he may be a link for my mission" Shepherd said.

"Right," Tali replied. "We need two teams to make it to Veetor anyways."

"Now we're working for Cerberus?" Prazza stated in disbelief. Tali glared at him, she would not have Prazza disrespect her now, not while she was in front of the man she loved. She faced the insubordinate quarians and looked him in the eye.

"No, Prazza, you're working for me" Tali said firmly. "You can either follow my orders or you can wait on the ship." Prazza scoffed. Shepherd smirked. _'That's my girl'_ he thought.

"Your people really hate Cerberus," Shepard observed. "What'd I miss?"

"They killed our people, infiltrated our Flotilla and tried to blow up one of our ships," Prazza answered angrily.

"Only because you had something that belonged to us" Miranda said.

Tali pointed at Miranda accusingly. "You tried force a scared girl back to your labs!" she hissed.

"What?" Shepherd asked.

"She was a human biotic hiding from Cerberus, we sheltered her, and so they attacked." Tali said. "Cerberus attacked the Idena, infiltrated it and killed the crew inside, luckily the captain sent the girl into a shuttle heading for Omega, before he too was gunned down by them"

Shepherd looked back at Miranda and frowned. "Once a terrorist, always a terrorist" he said with venom.

Miranda scoffed and crossed her arms. "They shouldn't have gotten in the way then" she said. Shepherd shook his head; he would talk to her later.

"We'll work together then. Keep in radio contact." He said.

"Right." She said. Shepherd and his team started to leave the building. "Wayne…" Shepherd looked back. "It's good to have you back." He smiled.

"Move out" She ordered.

_**Tali**_

As Tali and her squad raced through the housing units, Tali could keep a huge smile off her face, he was back, the love of her life came back to her. It was a miracle, but then she became worried, so much had changed in just two short years. How was he dealing with it? She knew how strong Shepherd is, but dying and then coming back to like would be stressful for anyone. And then there was Cerberus, they may have brought him back, but she didn't trust them, she had sinking thought that Shepherd was in danger. A whirling sound snapped her out of her thoughts and she saw half a dozen drones heading towards Shepherd's position. Tali raised her com. "Wayne, we just spotted several drones heading to your position."

"Thanks for the heads up, Rookie"

Prazza scoffed. "I can't believe we helping Cerberus, just because of your infatuation with a human"

Tali stopped and glared at Prazza. "What did you say?!" she asked angrily.

"I'm taking over this mission," he stated. "It's obvious that you're not in the right state of mind."

"What?" She looked at Tam and Ali, they didn't say anything, but they didn't have to talk, Tali knew they agreed with Prazza.

"You know what I'm talking about. The way you were talking to him. The way he looked at you." He said with venom. " Quarians and Humans together, Disgusting"

"You bosh'tet!"

"Look at you; fawning over a Cerberus operative, the bastards that attacked and killed out people, just because he wears the same face of a human you know" he said. "In the end, they'll betray us"

"That's a lie!" she said. "I know Wayne, he would never betray us!"

Prazza scoffed. "They act so noble, but in the end they are all for themselves." He said with venom. "This is my squad now, and we're going to grab Veetor"

"Prazza, you idiot!" Tali responded. "Those mechs will kill you all, maybe you want to throw your life away, but I won't let you throw the other's lives away too"

Prazza got out a gun and aimed it at Tali, Tam and Ali looked at him shocked. "You have no say in this, not anymore" Prazza said. "I'll see that you get tried for treason after this, not even your father will help you, in fact I would be doing him a favor" He nodded to his squad and ran forward, Tam and Ali looked back at Tali and then went ahead.

"Damn it!" Tali opened her omni-tool. "Wayne! Prazza betrayed me. He took the squad ahead. They're going to take away Veetor before you have a chance to talk to him."

"Are you okay?" he asked very earnestly.

"I'm okay, but hurry." She made her way to the courtyard. There she saw a YMIR mech rise up and targeting Prazza's squad. "Wayne! Veetor activated an YMIR mech! It's attacking Prazza's team I'll open the bay doors when you get to cover."

"Well they did want to get Veetor" Miranda said.

"Got it" Shepherd said.

Tali watched as his squad took cover. She tapped her omni-tool and overrides the bay's door. The shutter opened and his squad ran in and took cover behind some boxes. Just as she turned her head toward the others, she saw a dead, limp quarian body flying in the air; Tali went closer and saw it was Ali, she almost gagged as she saw her body, missing an arm and a leg, the explosion of a rocket had killed her. She saw Tam trying to crawl to cover, only to let out a scream as the heavy mech stepped on his legs and gun him down point-blank range. Prazza was the only one left, firing desperately to keep the behemoth mech at bay, but the last thing Tali hears is Prazza's screams fill the air. Next Shepherd and his team came in, and the giant mech targeted them, enough was enough she ran to Shepherd's team.

"Wayne, I want to help" she said. Shepherd nodded.

"Forget it, your team tried to betray us before, like he…" Miranda started.

"Lawson, shut the fuck up" Shepherd said simply. Miranda glared at him, but kept her mouth shut. "Alright, Miranda and Tali overload the mech's shields, Jacob take down its armor, I'll be the distraction." Shepherd activated his tech-armor and loaded his shotgun and rushed the mech. He fired several rounds at the hulking monstrosity gaining its attention from his squad. Tali watched as he faced down the one-ton mech. Fear gripped her. Not for her own safety, but Shepard's. She had already lost him once before, she would not be able to bear see him die again. Miranda and Tali drained the mech's shields while Jacob placed several fiery rounds in the hulk's armor. The mech tried to take aim at the team, but Shepherd kept firing so it could focus on him, until it cornered him.

"Oh, no!" she gasped.

"Shit!" he cursed. A single gunshot was heard, and the YMIR's shields flashed as they deflected the shot. It was Tali as she charged the mech, firing pistol rounds around its head. There was a flash of light as it launched a rocket, and Tali jumped away just as it exploded behind her. She was just far enough to prevent injury from the rocket's blast radius, but its concussive force was still enough to send her rolling and tumbling on the ground a few extra feet. The chaos of the moment caused her to drop gun far out of reach.

"No you don't" Shepherd said as he shot the mech with his arc projector point-blank. When the mech was stunned enough he climbed the mech's back and With his left arm holding unto the heavy mech's head, the human pulled out his heavy pistol and shot it three times, point-blank at its optic sensor. He took his arc projector and fired. He jumped away from the Mech, just as its head split open from the explosion; all the circuitry within utterly destroyed.

Tali ran to Shepherd. "Are you ok?" she asked concerned. Shepherd smiled.

"I am now" he said. Tali immediately threw her arms around him as she began to cry. They held each other tightly. A short while passed, and the moment was suddenly interrupted as they heard yelling coming from the other side of the area. It was Miranda and Jacob, walking out of one of the buildings with a male quarian in a red suit. He was struggling desperately, his eye held great fear.

"N-No! No no no no! It's not safe out here! The monsters will get us! We have to hide! We have to go back inside!" the quarian fearfully yelled.

"That's Veetor! What are they doing?" Tali urgently said, and ran toward them. Shepherd followed.

"Commander, we found out who's been attacking our colonies. You're not going to believe this," Jacob said as both Shepherd and Tali reached them.

"Jacob and I investigated the area. We found this quarian, who managed to piece together security footage of the attack. The Collectors are the ones responsible." Miranda said.

"Th-the monsters! That's why we have to hide, before they return!" Veetor exclaimed, still traumatized over what he had seen.

"The Collectors? I've heard of them back on Mindoir…but I always thought they were a myth" Shepherd said. "You said we have actual footage of the attack?"

"Yes, as well as various energy readings that the quarian got with his omni-tool," Miranda confirmed, and then added "Still, we should take him with us so he can be properly interviewed."

"What? No!" Tali immediately objected, "He's sick! He needs medical attention, not an interrogation!"

"If he goes with you, we may never get that omni-tool data," Miranda scoffed.

"Look at him, he's obviously traumatized. I doubt we can learn anything useful from him. He's helped us by getting us footage and data of what happened. Veetor goes home."

"But Cerberus protocol states…."

Shepherd crossed his arms. "Cerberus protocol can kiss my black ass…Veetor goes home, that's final" Shepherd said.

Miranda sighed. "Very well, Commander," Miranda said through gritted teeth.

"We got what we came for. We should leave quickly before the Alliance shows up." Jacob said.

"You two head back to the ship, I'll join you shortly." He said.

"Just remember, the Illusive Man doesn't want us to be here longer than necessary," Miranda said bluntly.

"Well, the Illusive Man will have to learn about disappointment" Shepherd said. Miranda walked back toward the shuttle with Jacob walking close behind.

"Veetor," she said gently "Why don't you go back inside and gather your belongings? I'll come and get you soon." Veetor just nervously nodded his head, and quickly went back inside. Shepherd and Tali were alone. Tali hugged him tightly.

"You came back, Keelah, I hope this isn't another dream." Tali said close to tears. "It so hard… knew I had l lost you forever."

Shepherd kissed her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He said softly. "I know you hate Cerberus, but will you join me on my mission? I would really like to have Tali'Zorah nar Rayya at my side"

"I'm Tali'Zorah vas Neema now. I joined the Neema when I returned to my people." She said. "I have a mission coming up, Wayne. But once it's over, I'm all freed up"

"I'm glad to hear it." He looked into her glowing eyes and leaned forward. Shepherd planted a kiss on the mouth piece of her helmet. "Until then, be safe, sayang"

"You too" With a squeeze, their hug ended, and they said their final goodbye and went their separate ways. Shepherd looked back at the walking quarian.

"You'll see Tali. When we started adventuring again, it'll just be like old times!" He shouted.

Tali looked back and smiled. "No, better." She whispered.


	4. Chapter 4: Second Flight of the Normandy

**Chapter 4: Second flight of the Normandy**

After a mission complete on Freedom's progress, Shepherd and team returned to the Cerberus facility to brief TIM, however the trip back wasn't exactly peaceful. Ever since Shepherd made the decision to allow Veetor to go back with Tali, Miranda has made her displeasure known, and her and Shepherd had been at each other throats for the ride, much to Jacob's annoyance.

"Your foolish concern for the Quarian almost cost vital information!" Miranda said angrily.

Shepherd frowned. "It's called having a heart, something you Cerberus people wouldn't know about!" he said. "And she has a name, you should remember that!"

"I'm starting to think it was a mistake to bring you back, your bleeding heart could be a liability." She said.

"I almost welcome it, at least I wouldn't hear your bitching all the time" Shepherd said. Jacob had enough.

"Goddammit, enough! You two have been at for hours" Jacob looked at Miranda. "Whether you like it or not, Miri, Shepherd's the leader, so it was his call" Miranda scoffed.

Shepherd sat back in the seat and smirked. "Exactly" Jacob looked at him.

"And you, if we're going to be working together, maybe you should stop antagonizing the only ally you got now" he said. Shepherd looked at Miranda and Miranda looked back, Jacob was right, this was going to be a long and deadly mission and the last thing they needed was to be in a pissing match all the time. Shepherd had seen what happen when squad unity was in chaos, and it wasn't pretty.

The spectre sighed. "Fine, as long as she knows who's in charge" Shepherd said.

"I'll follow his command, if he can get the job done" Miranda scoffed. Jacob sighed.

"I'll take what I can get, I'm getting tired of playing peace-keeper all the time" he said.

The ride was silent for the rest of the way back to the facility. Shepherd stood in the same room as the column of light enveloped him once again. Shepherd was face to face with TIM once again, sitting in the same chair from the last time they met. Shepherd started to wonder, if the man ever leaves that place. TIM took a sip of his wine and looked at Shepherd, finally acknowledging his presence.

"Shepherd, good work on Freedom's Progress" he said in the same smug tone that pissed him off. "The Quarians forwarded their findings Veetor's debriefing. It had no new data, but surprising given our history."

"Having friends pays off, especially girlfriends" He said. "You could try; it would help with that stick up your ass."

"Yes…How...colorful of you" TIM said. He was obviously disturbed by the notion of a human and a Quarian be together. "Diplomacy is great when it works, but difficult when people already see you as a threat."

Shepherd scoffed. "Gee, I wonder why…" he said sarcastically.

TIM ignored his remark. "More importantly, you confirmed the collectors were behind the abductions"

Shepherd narrowed his eyes. "You don't seem that surprised" he said. "Why do I get the feeling you knew this already?"

TIM took another drab from his cigarette. "I had my suspicions, I needed proof. The collectors are enigmatic at best"

Shepherd sighed. "Ok, so what do we know about them?" he asked.

"They periodically travel to the Terminus Systems, seeking seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for their technology." He said. "When the transaction is complete, they disappear behind the unmapped Omega-4 relay."

"Wait why is the relay unmapped? What do we know about it?" Shepherd asked.

"Only that no ship passing through it has ever returned." TIM said. "Our best guess? The collectors' ship must react differently to the relay, allowing for safe passage"

"Well…that's a nice…picture" he said.

"Yes, if they can manipulate relays, it's just further evidence of their connection to the reapers" TIM said.

"The threat's real enough" he said. "But how do you know the reapers are involved?"

"The patterns are there in the data, buried" TIM said "The Council and the Alliance want to believe the reaper threat died when Sovereign died, you and I know better." He took another drab. "I won't wait while they're twiddling their thumbs when we are on the edge of oblivion; we need to take the fight to them"

"Agreed" Shepherd said. "But, I can't do this alone"

TIM smirked. "I have a list of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries already; you'll get dossiers on the best of the best" he said. "Finding them and convincing to join your cause will be difficult, but you're a natural leader."

"Damn, you work fast" Shepherd admitted.

"I'll continue to track the collectors. When the make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team. Be ready." TIM said.

"So I do the heavy lifting again, glad to see that hasn't change "he said sarcastically.

"Unfortunately, greatness comes at a price, something you should know all too well" TIM said. "Two things before you go"

"Yeah?" Shepherd said.

"First, find Mordin Solus, he's a brilliant salarian scientist, he's on Omega" TIM said. "He may have knowledge on how to counteract these 'seeker swarms' as Veeter puts it"

"And the second thing?" Shepherd asked.

"I've found a pilot, I think you might like, heard he's one of the best" he said with a smirk. "Someone you can trust"

Shepherd raised his brow. "Who?" he asked.

"Aw, you forget the cripple already, I'm hurt really" a voice teased.

Shepherd turned around and his eye went wide. "Joker?" he asked in disbelief.

Joker smirked as he walked in, wearing as Cerberus uniform. One thing he noticed that Joker was no longer had his crutches; he was walking alone although he still walked with a limp. "The one and only" he said.

"I see your head's gotten even bigger, if that was possible" Shepherd said.

"Hey, it's not bragging, if you can back it up" he said with a smirk. Joker held out his hand. "Welcome back, Commander"

Shepherd took his hand and shook it then pulled him into a huge hug, lifting him off the ground. First Tali, and now Joker seeing his old friend made him more emotional than he was used to being. But after everything her been through, he didn't care. "I can't believe it…" he said close to tears.

Joker strained. "I missed you too, Commander, but you're breaking the cripple here" he said.

Shepherd instantly let go, Joker fell to the floor as he rubbed his head sheepishly. He had forgotten how strong he was now. "Heh, sorry" he said helping Joker off the floor. "But what are you doing here?"

"Helping you of course, you think I was going to pass up serving under you again, especially after…" he said lowering his head in shame. Joker told him about what happened after Shepherd had died. When Joker told the crew of what happened, the team was silent; there was lots of crying aboard. A lot of the crew blamed Joker, for his death, especially Tali who was completely hysterical with sadness. Joker blamed himself for the last two years, but when he had gotten a call on Shepherd being back, he instantly packed his bags and joined Cerberus, who then strengthen his bones, free of charge in return. Shepherd put his hand on his shoulder. "You probably hate my guts, huh?"

"No I don't, being dead then to make you forget about grudges." He joked. Joker laughed. "I still can't believe it's you, man" They took a walk around the base.

"Look who's talking, I saw you get spaced." Joker said.

Shepherd scoffed. "Got lucky with a lot of strings attached. So tell me, how bad?"

Joker sighed. "It all fell apart without you, Commander, everything you stirred up, the council wanted gone."

Shepherd shook his head. "Typical"

"The team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded." He said. "Then Cerberus called, and the rest is history"

"You really trust TIM?" Shepherd asked. Joker raised his brow.

"TIM?" he asked.

Shepherd shrugged. "Hey, I was getting tired calling him by his full title" he said.

Joker chuckled. "Anyway, I don't trust anyone with a bigger paycheck than me, but aren't all bad. Saved you and let me walk without crutches." He then smirked. "And then there's this, they only told me last night"

The lights went on and revealed a beauty of a ship; it was white and gold, and looked just like his original ship. "Holy…" Shepherd said in awe.

"Yeah, Commander, meet the SR-2 Normandy" Joker said. "It's good to be home, huh Commander?"

"Fuck yeah" he said with a smirk. "Let's see what this baby can do, Joker get to you station."

Joker smirked and saluted. "Aye aye, sir" he said.

The doors open as the Normandy started her engines; the beast was ready to be unleashed. Her engines came to life and slowly but surely got out of the docking bay. With the ship now free, she roared at the taste of her new-found freedom.

The ship was just as impressive inside as she was outside. The new Normandy was larger in size, but it bore many similarities to its predecessor, including its appearance and general layout. This familiarity helped Shepherd a lot in getting over the sudden pause his life had taken. A woman some came up him. _'Huh, one of the new crewmembers' _he thought. She had short red hair; the woman herself was short and on the petite side.

"I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers; I'll be your administrative assistant." She said warmly. "I help you monitor the crew" she smiled. "It's an honor to meet you"

"Glad to have you on the team, Kelly" he said. She nodded and went to her station. Shepherd went to see Joker.

"Can you believe it, Commander? My baby's back, she fits me like a glove" he said excitedly. He rubs his head on the back of the seat, Shepherd shook his head at his pilot's antics. "And leather seats! Military may set hardware standard, but they could care less if the seats breathe. This is civilian comfort by design."

"Reproduction is not meant to be perfect in design, Mr. Moreau. Seamless improvements were made." A voice said.

"Uh, commander, I must be out of it, because I think the ship just talked back" Joker said.

"Yeah I hear it too" Shepherd said. Shepherd and Joker looked to the side of the cockpit a blue orb appeared. "Who are you?"

"I am the Normandy's Artificial Intelligence, I am the Enhanced Defense Intelligence or what the crew like to call me, EDI." She said.

"I don't I'm going to like this Commander, I liked it when the Normandy was nice and quiet, Now she got this thing, it's like ship cancer" he said grimly.

"Calm down, this ship is a copy, there's nothing here that was even part of the real Normandy" Shepherd said.

"There's us, I have to take what I can get, the last two years have been hell" Joker complained. "Even with an AI spying on us, it'll be better like the old days"

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "Let's hope so, I died after all" he said.

Joker sat in the chair. "God, you're such a downer" he said. Shepherd looked at EDI, he didn't know what to think about the AI, after all his run-ins with geth and Sovereign especially he's learned to be wary of synthetics. He then thought about Tali, how was she going to react to an AI on the ship, he shook his head, he would worry about that later.

"As for you, try not give Joker too much of a hard time" he said.

"Of course, Commander" she said. "Logging you out"

"Joker, get us to Omega, I say it's time to get this party on the road" he said.

"Got it" Joker said.

Shepherd smiled as he got to the CIC, Joker was right; it was good to be home.


	5. Chapter 5: Old Friends New Friends

**Chapter 5: Old Friends, New Friends**

Shepherd was in the shower of his new room, feeling the hot water on his skin had never felt this good, being dead for two years, made Shepherd never take the small stuff for granted. He got out of the shower and made his way into his room. The room was bigger than the one he had on the old SR-1, with a desk and a fish tank, Cerberus really went all out when they built the ship. He made his way to his bed and frowned, there was a Cerberus uniform on the bed, and instantly threw them off his bed.

"Like hell" Shepherd said. Cerberus may have given him a second chance, but that by no means changed his mind of the organization. Shepherd went to the holographic interfaced drawer, to find something new to wear.

"Let's see, nope hate suits…what's a lab uniform doing here?…ah hah!" Shepherd chose brown sleeveless shirt with a vest, and black cargo pants, with fingerless gloves and his combat boots. The clothes reminded him of his time of Mindoir and plus they were comfortable. "And what do we have here, I can equip my armor too…sweet!" Shepherd spent the couple of hours getting his gear together. Shepherd sighed. "All done" After he was done, it was time to meet the crew.

"Hello Commander" The first one Shepherd met was his assistant, Kelly Chambers, a real bubbly girl, she seem nice enough which asked the question why would she mixed herself up with Cerberus. "I have to say, it's such an honor to meet you Commander"

"Please just Shepherd, I'm not that good with formalities" Shepherd said. "So what are you duties?"

"I observe the crew, everyone knows how risky the mission will be, and we all know some of us won't be coming back, I help them through the stress" Kelly said.

"So the ship's therapist?" Shepherd asked.

"Yes, in a way, my door is open 24/7 so don't be shy" She said.

"Uh thanks, but Tali usually helps me with the stress" Shepherd said with a smirk.

"Who is Tali?"

"My girlfriend, she's coming on the ship after mission, but she doesn't like Cerberus very much" Shepherd said. "She's quarian"

Kelly's eyes lit up. "A Human and a Quarian, oh how romantic!" Shepherd was taken aback by her reaction; he didn't expect a Cerberus member to call his relationship with Tali romantic. He half expected for her to be disgusted by it. "You have my blessing, Shepherd"

"I'm surprised to hear that, don't Cerberus hate aliens and human-alien relationships?" Shepherd asked.

"Not at all, while we look out for human interest, but that doesn't mean we hate aliens" Kelly said. "I love humanity, but I also love asari quarian, turian, salarian, hanar"

"Huh, quite the positive thinker aren't you?"

"What can I say, I'm a people person" she said. "Well I better get back to work, see you later Shepherd."

Shepherd continued his rounds, meeting more of his crew, they all looked at him with a mix of reverence, respect, and little fear. They've been pleasant so far; his favorite had to be Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella Daniels down in engineering, a real comedy duo those two was with Donnelly's bad jokes and Gabby keeping him in line. They were Alliance like Shepherd was, proudly so, but when he died and the Alliance kept everything under wraps, they quite the Alliance because they felt the spectre was being disrespected. Shepherd found it amazing he could inspire people even as he was dead. He went into the med bay to meet the teams new nurse, and too his surprise it was a familiar face.

"Hello Commander" Chakwas said with a smile.

"Doc? What the hell are you doing here?" Shepherd asked as he hugged the older woman.

"I saw you go down with the first Normandy, so when I heard you were coming back, how could I not join them?" Chakwas said.

"I'm flattered, but you and Joker are now considered traitors to the Alliance now" Shepherd said concerned.

"I know, but after every that has happened with Saren and Sovereign, and for the Alliance to cover it up, it was like a slap in the face" Chakwas said. "You deserved better, Commander" Shepherd and Chakwas continued to talk, talking about the old days and what the others were up too, Shepherd was sadden to hear crew didn't keep in contact anymore, when Shepherd and the Normandy died, their team effectively died. After Shepherd's death, Chakwas was posted at the Mars Naval Medical Center. Missing the excitement of a starship, Chakwas joins Cerberus, getting a position on the Normandy SR-2 as the ship's Chief Medical Officer.

"But are you sure about this? This mission could be a possible suicide mission"

Chakwas chuckled. "Saren and Sovereign were possible suicide missions, and we made out okay" She then grew sad and lowered her head. "Almost okay…" Shepherd knew what she was talking about, the day they lost Ash on Virmire. A day they never wanted to relive ever again.

"How is Ash's family doing? We were supposed to go to her funeral after Tali dropped off her gift, but then…" Shepherd said sadly.

"It was hard…after your memorial, some of us just couldn't go to Ashley's funeral, Joker and I went out of respect, but like I said it was hard…" She said. "After the funeral, Councilor Anderson pardoned General Williams, and reinstated his status as General; the Williams family name has finally been redeemed"

Shepherd smiled a little, even though that was nothing more than symbolic gesture, but he knew Ash would be happy to hear her family name being redeemed. Chakwas then got up and waved her omni-tool across Shepherd's body. "Uh, doc?"

"Oh sorry, just checking on your implants, making sure Cerberus didn't put any nasty surprises in your body, when you were rebuilt, stand up" Shepherd stood up and Chakwas continued to scan him. "Ah, good, no signs of your body rejecting your implants and cybernetics, or any nasty control chip. You've got a clean bill of health"

"Thank doc" Shepherd walked out of the med-bay and met with Miranda, he really didn't want to have to talk to her, but she was XO of the ship and member of the ground team so he had to at least play nice. Shepherd came into Miranda's room, the spectre was quite impressed with the set up, it was not as nice as his room, but it was lot nicer than his old room. There in the center was Miranda at her desk, doing paperwork. "Miranda" he said curtly.

"Shepherd" Miranda said curtly. "For whatever reason, the Illusive Man is very impressed with you, I'm eager to see if you can live up to expectations on this mission"

Shepherd smirked. "Bitchy right out the gate, afraid you're no longer his favorite?"

Miranda glared at him. "Don't be ridiculous"

"Looks like I hit a nerve, good to know" Shepherd said.

"I've proven my value to the Illusive Man, let's hope you can do the same" Miranda said. Shepherd had to give the woman credit, she was one cool customer, and she did a good job of keeping her annoyance under wraps. "Despite your attitude, I respect your abilities, but it's your motivation that concerns me, let's hope you're an asset and not liability"

"And maybe you should worry about yourself; I'll do my job, just do yours" Shepherd said annoyed. "So where to?"

"Finally decided to be civil human being, I see, I've looked over the dossiers I'd strongly recommend Mordin Solus, a salarian professor on Omega" Miranda said. "With the Collectors' ability to immobilize their victims, we'll need him to develop countermeasures"

"Yeah, sure whatever, just be ready to go"

"I'm always ready"

"Huh, I bet" Shepherd said walking out. For his final rounds, he talked to Jacob in the armory cleaning the weapons. Unlike Miranda, Shepherd liked Jacob; unlike the woman Jacob didn't give him a headache from talking, mostly he was lot more sociable than Miranda. His quarters wasn't much to look at, tables full of weapons and a little cot in the corner.

Jacob saluted. "Commander"

"At ease, Jacob" Shepherd said.

"So, do you know where we going?" He asked.

"Someplace called Omega, in the Terminus System" Shepherd rubbing his forehead.

"Something wrong Commander?"

"Just had to deal with Miranda" Shepherd groaned. "Is she always…difficult?"

Jacob chuckled. "Yeah, for as long as I known her, don't worry about it, she means well" he said.

"I sensed you had history with her, when you called her Miri" Shepherd said.

"An old nickname from childhood, back then she was the sweetest girl you ever met, but…" Jacob said. "…things changed"

Shepherd raised a brow. "How so?"

"Uh, sorry Shepherd, but if you want to get the story, you'll have to talk to her" Jacob said.

"Fair enough" The intercom opened.

"Shepherd, we're close to Omega, better get ready" Joker said.

"Thanks, Joker" Shepherd said. He looked at Jacob. "Suit up, Jacob"

Jacob gave a sharp salute. "Yes sir!"

_**For those who don't know, while this story mostly follow canon, there are a few changes to the story to make it more interesting. For example, Miranda and Jacob as childhood friends. So in a way this is a semi-AU, but I hope you keep reading regardless.**_

_**Review and Comment. **_


	6. Chapter 6a: The Professor pt1

**Chapter 6a: The Professor pt. 1**

_Originally an asteroid rich in element zero, Omega was briefly mined by the Protheans, who eventually abandoned it due to its thick, impenetrable crust. Thousands of years later, nature did what even the Protheans could not: a collision with another asteroid broke Omega in half, exposing its trove of element zero for easy mining._

_A rush ensued as corporations and private individuals tried to strike it rich on Omega, and thieves and outlaws followed in their wake. As space became tight, construction of processing facilities extended vertically from the asteroid, creating Omega's jellyfish-like silhouette. To prevent future collisions, the station is ringed with enormous mass effect field generators that redirect incoming debris._

_Today, Omega is a major hub of narcotics, weapons, and eezo trafficking without even a pretense of civilian government or military control. Only mercenary groups have been able to instill a limited order; the most ruthless is an asari syndicate run by the notorious Aria T'Loak-Codex._

"Wow this is a dump" Shepherd muttered. Omega was a far cry from bright and almost cheery atmosphere of the Citadel, while the Citadel is bright; Omega was dark, easy for two-bit thugs to sneak up on unsuspecting victims. And the worse part to Shepherd was the smell, a sickening mix of fecal matter, dead bodies, and desperation. What a well-respected salarian professor doing here was beyond him. "You sure he's here?" he asked.

"Yep, Cerberus have been monitoring Dr. Solus for months, he's here" Jacob said.

"Let's just hurry up, I don't want to stay here longer than I need to" Miranda said.

"Well you're going to be disappointed." Shepherd said. Miranda groaned.

"Why's that?" Jacob asked.

Miranda sighed. "We gotten two more dossier, all for Omega" she said annoyed.

"A little dirt is not going to hurt you, Lawson" Shepherd said. "Come on" As they walked they met a Batarian moving up to them, he was wearing brown armor, Shepherd and team got ready for trouble. Shepherd narrowed his eyes at the batrian, two years dying didn't change how he felt about batarians, Shepherd tried to keep his temper under control. "The fuck you want, blink?" he growled.

"Welcome to Omega, human, Aria wants to see you" he said unfazed by Shepherd's hostility.

"And if I refuse" Shepherd said coldly. The batarian laughed.

"This is Omega human, you don't refuse the empress, not without losing your life" he said.

"Whatever, how about you leave, you're making my blood boil" Shepherd said. The batarian left and Shepherd calmed down. Miranda spoke up.

I know how you feel about the batarians, but I suggest you calm down, emotional strain worsens the scaring." She said.

Shepherd sighed. "Right" he said. "So, who's Aria?"

"Aria T'Loak, she's the leader of Omega, has something of an ego problem, hence the nickname, the 'Empress of Omega'" Jacob said. "Maybe we should speak to her; it's a good idea to get her on our good side." Shepherd nodded.

They walked the desolate halls of Omega, until they met up with an older man and a batarian. He was roughed up, pretty badly from being in the man's company, usually Shepherd would stop something like this, but with a batarian he would make an exception. "Please, you have to help me" the batarian pleaded.

"No one said you can talk, jackass" the man said kicking the batarian.

"You Zaeed Massani?" Shepherd asked.

"Who the fuck wants to know?" he asked in a guff accent. _'Must be British or an Aussie' _he thought.

"Cerberus" Miranda said.

Zaeed turned around, the man was wearing a brown armor, and he had lots of scars on his face not doubt from years. The biggest one was on the left side of his face in the eye area; Shepherd wondered what was story with that one. "Huh, so you're my client, have to say I was expecting more from the great savior of the Citadel" he said.

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "I could show you, old man" he said annoyed. Zaeed chuckled.

"Fiery, for little punk, I think we'll get along fine" he said.

"I assumed you've been briefed?" Jacob asked.

"Cerberus sent everything I need to know" he said. "Cerberus is paying me a lot of money, so I did my homework."

"Not many mercs would sign on for a possible suicide mission" Shepherd said.

"Most mercs don't get an offer like the one Cerberus sent me" Zaeed said.

"My contacts said we were picking up one man, not two" Miranda said.

"Don't let it bother you, this jack-off pissed off someone rich enough to hire me, hell even for my alive rates too" he said.

"Please…I didn't do it…" the batarian said weakly. Zaeed kicked him and the batarian shut up quickly.

"I said shut it" he said. Shepherd smirked.

"Good to have you aboard" Shepherd said.

"I assumed the Illusive Man told you about our arrangement?" he asked.

Shepherd sighed. "No, he didn't" he said.

"Good thing I asked" he said. "Picked up a mission before this one, Vido Santiago, a leader of the blue suns, he recently captured a refinery on Zorya, the company wants them dealt with."

"We can do this" Shepherd said.

"Good, then we can focus big goddamn heroes" he said. Zaeed motioned for the batarian to get up however the batarian made run for it. Zaeed sighed and shot him it back of the knee making the batarian fall and roll on the floor in agony. Zaeed walked towards the wounded batarian and picked him up. "Better turn this thing in before it start to stink, I'll be ready for the next mission"

"Well that was easy, one down, two to go" Shepherd said.

Omega, despite being a POS station it was full of life, rivaling that of the wards on the Citadel. They saw a lot of people outside a huge compound, Afterlife, the closest thing Shepherd could equate to it was Chora' Den for it seeder appearance with a bit of Flux mixed in. The team waded through the crowds; the bouncers saw them and waved them through immediately, to the chagrin of the people waiting in line. Inside was pretty impressive, full of the same energy as outside but magnified, the music was pumping with asari and human strippers at the top. If it wasn't for the fact Shepherd was on mission, he would probably lose himself to energy too. The team walked the main bar, and head to the back and up the stairs to the platform where Aria T'Loak, the unofficial queen of Omega, sat watching over her domain.

"That's close enough" she said. Aria's men aimed their weapons at the team. Jacob and Miranda raised their weapons.

"What's the big idea?" he asked. A batarian came up close to scan him. "Touch me, and you'll be eating that omni-tool." He growled as he glowed blue. The batarian backed away slowly.

"Can't be too careful, that can be anyone wearing your face" the asari said.

"I was told you could get me info" Shepherd said.

"I could, if you play nice" Aria said.

Shepherd scoffed. "Fine" he said. The batarian scanned him, with Shepherd trying his hardest not to strangle him with his own intestines.

"He's clean" he said.

"Now what want to know?" Aria asked sitting down.

"I'm looking for a scientist, Mordin Solus" Shepherd said sitting down. "Know where I can find him?"

"The salarian doctor, last heard he was trying to cure the plague in the quarantine" Aria said. She smirked. "I always liked Mordin, he's as quick to heal as he is to shoot you"

"What do you mean?" Shepherd asked.

"Solus, from what I heard, is former STG, meaning he's brilliant and dangerous" she said.

"How do I get to him?" Shepherd asked.

"Take a shuttle to the quarantine zone, though I doubt they'll let you in." Aria said.

"Thanks" he said getting up.

"Whatever, just one thing, you get off easy, because you don't know the rule, you won't get off easy next time" she said.

"Oh, and what's that?" he asked.

"Don't fuck with Aria, maybe next time you'll get that" she said.

"Maybe, but maybe not" Shepherd said. Aria smirked.

"Stupid and brave, I may actually like you" she said.

"I'm...quite impressed with how you handled Aria." The Cerberus woman reluctantly admitted.

Shepherd smirked. "Stings, doesn't it?"

Miranda scoffed. "Please, don't get a big head, anyone can talk to a brute, like Aria" she said.

"Yeah." Jacob grunted. "At first I thought you were crazy...but damn if she didn't actually end up liking you." He actually sounded a bit puzzled.

"Whatever, she's got nothing on Tali" Shepherd said with a smirk. Miranda rolled her eyes.

The team went on our way to the slum; eventually they made their way to a turian guarding the shuttle dock to the quarantine sector. He was arguing with a human woman incensed at the turian, for not being allowed back into the slums to protect her possessions from looters.

"I told you to get lost, lady" the turian said. "The plague has the zone quarantined" The woman crossed her arms.

"I'm human, you ass, we're immune" she said annoyed. "Now let me get my stuff, before looters get it."

"This thing affects every other race out there, we're not taking chances" he said angrily. The woman scoffed. Shepherd walked up to the turian, the turian looked at him with annoyance, expecting Shepherd start complaining too.

"There's a salarian in there, I got to get there and fine him." Shepherd said.

"The doctor, crazy bastard trying to cure the plague, I wish him luck, but area is still locked down." The turian said. "Our orders at to wait for the plague or the blue sun kill everyone."

"Listen, you're stuck here until then and that could take weeks, what you need is for someone to solve the problem, that what I do." Shepherd said.

"You think you can fix this? Be my guest, all the quarantine does is keep people in anyway" the turian said. "I'll radio in, that you're coming in"

"What?!" the woman said outraged. "You won't let me in, but you'll let them?!"

"You don't have grenade launcher, lady, now get out of here." The turian said annoyed.

"Lucky for us, humans are immune to the plague" Miranda said.

"Yeah, I wonder why, diseases don't discriminate unless they're different amino acids" Jacob said.

"I guess we find out inside" Shepherd said.

The quarantine zone reeked. The smell of dead burned flesh threatens to overwhelm the team. So far there was nothing and that made the group tense as they moved down yet another empty corridor. Empty, except for the corpses, this one sported two of them, a Batarian and a Turian, each in one end of the corridor. The Turian's blood-flecked claws still half-closed around his own throat, a long blue tongue lying limp on the floor where he lay...and the Batarian sitting against the wall, blood still running from four blackened eyes.

"My god, how can they live like this?" Jacob asked.

"Desperation." Shepherd said grimly. "The strong don't survive things like this, it's the desperate ones that do...and I doubt we want to meet them."

"Aria made the right call." Miranda noted. "Could you imagine this plague spreading to the rest of Omega? The station would be turned into a graveyard."

"Which is why we're here, something doesn't smell right" Shepherd said.

"You can say that again" Miranda gagged.

"Not what I mean, don't you think it's a coincidence that only humans are immune to this plague" he said.

"What are you getting at?" Jacob asked. "That the plague was manufactured?"

"It would fit, but we don't know much now" Miranda said. "Mordin should know more" Jacob and Shepherd nodded.

The team went into another corridor...another three corpses, all three Batarians...riddled with shots along the right wall, executed, perhaps because they were showing symptoms of disease, perhaps for no real reason.

"God, this stench is horrible." Jacob said.

"Smelled worse, suck it up" Shepherd said.

"You've actually smelled something worse than this?" he asked trying not to gag.

"Two words, Thorian creepers" he said.

"That bad?"

"Yep, kill enough of them you find yourself rapidly re-evaluating what you consider a bad smell." Shepherd shuddered. "Even worse when drenched with their insides from fighing them, decontamination and four showers don't help, me, Ash and Tali were quarantined for a week, because the crew complained."

"That…something" Miranda said. They then heard sounds of battle suddenly got their attention. Ahead there was a large hall stretching out to the left and right. The right side sported a number of tipped over tables and benches from where a number Blue Suns were digging in, the left side on the other hand only had a few tall boxes of various size as cover, boxes the many Vorcha around were practically fighting each other to cover behind as shots filled the air between the two forces. A Varren leapt over one of the nearest tables, the large reptile sinking its dagger-sized teeth into the neck of a Turian mercenary. The man shrieked as he was bowled over, his weapon slipping out of his hands as they shot up to push against the large reptile...only to limply fall to the floor as the Varren jerked its head sideways, drawing a sickening crack from the Turian's neck.

"Let's go, cause as much confusion as you can" Shepherd said. Miranda and Jacob nodded. The team charged into the chaos.


	7. Chapter 6b: The Professor pt2

**Chapter 6b: The Professor pt. 2**

_Dr. Mordin Solus_

_- Biological weapons expert_

_- Light weapons training with Salarian Special Tasks Group_

_Born sometime in the 2150s Mordin Solus is an expert geneticist, doctor, scientist and a former member of the salarian Special Tasks Group. His last mission in the STG before retiring involved the study of the krogan genophage. His expertise in biological weapons technology may hold the key to countering Collector attacks. He is currently operating a medical clinic in the slums of Omega-Dossier_

"Attack the Vorcha!" The man shouted. The battle was chaos the zone became a storm of shots. The Blue Sun commander leapt into the fray, heedless of the heavy crossfire between the two camps charged to the right, leapt...and landed right next to a confused-looking Turian. The entire team responded...leaping over tables and benches, dropping down next to the mercenaries. The team would help one side to get rid of the other and when that was done, they would turn on them.

"Miranda, overload the canisters" Shepherd ordered. She pointed her omni-tool at the canister, and the exploding tank tore them all apart. Further to her right Jacob was pulling several Vorcha out of cover with his biotics, making them becoming easy targets for the Blue Suns around him. Miranda added her shots to theirs, turning an entire flank of the enemy into a funnel of corpses as disciplined shot after shot and volley after volley took down their targets with near mechanical precision. The fight didn't last long.

The man nearest to Shepherd, a Batarian, turned to face the man, hand reaching out.

"Thank you for the..." His four eyes widen as he saw a gun to his face "...wait...what you are..."

Shepherd cracked his neck. "Cleanup" he said as he shot the batarian, the shot alerted the rest of the blue suns of the team's presents and they attacked. Miranda spun, the heel of her boot flying high...and smashing straight into the visor of the Turian that behind her had started to raise his weapon. He crumpled to the floor even as Miranda's biotics grabbed him...and sent him flying into another Turian, both crashing into the wall with a crunch allowing Jacob to take them out by shotgun. A human tried to sneak up on the man, but he was then rewarded with a round into the face as the rest were casually gunned down by Shepherd.

"Stupid and suicidal, just how I like it" Shepherd said with a smirk. "Makes it almost too easy."

"Can we hurry up and find the Salarian? The smell is getting worse" Miranda said gaging. The team made their way through the slums; they saw bodies hanging from poles. Aria had said he was dangerous and now Shepherd knew why, he was just as vicious as the mercs.

"This must be the place" Jacob said.

"I'll say this; he knows how to make a point." Shepherd said.

Miranda looked at him. "You almost sound like you admire his handy work." She said. "Remind you of Torfan?"

"He's making a statement that saying 'don't fuck with me' I respect that, that's all" he said.

Inside the clinic there was a detachment of human and mech guards, no doubt any mercs stupid enough to pick a fight with the people inside would have a hell of a fight. The guards looked at team with suspicion. One of them came up to them. "No funny business in the clinic, unless you want to deal with these mechs" one of the guards said.

"Noted" Shepherd said. Once inside, the lobby was full of the injured and the sick, from turians, asari and even batarian everyone was welcomed in the clinic, it matter what you were. However there were some who were not sick, mostly human running from the chaos of the slums, walking around making the sick and injured more comfortable, no doubt being put to work by the good doctor. Shepherd was impressed Mordin was able to make a clinic and a safe haven all in one. They went to see the doctor preforming an operation, Mordin was unassuming at first, like all salarians but that made him that much more dangerous. His face was wrinkled, not at all smooth like most salarians Shepherd had seen, which meant he was much older. One of his horns was broken off, an old battle injury no doubt.

"Professor Mordin Solus?" Shepherd asked. The doctor looked at Shepherd, walked up to him and scanned him. "O…kay"

"Hmm, don't recognize you from area, too heavily armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect" he said rapidly.

"Uh…" Shepherd said, but the salarian continued.

"Here for something else, Vorcha? Here to clean them out? Unlikely, Vorcha's a symptom, not a cause." Mordin said pacing.

"Doctor..." Shepherd said.

"The plague? Investigating uses as possible bio-weapon? No, too many guns, not enough data equipment, Soldiers, not scientists." Mordin said. "Yes, yes"

"Doctor…" Shepherd said becoming annoyed.

"Hired guns, maybe? Looking for someone? Yes! But who? Someone important. Valuable. Someone with secrets. Someone like me" he said.

"Doctor!" Shepherd yelled.

"He's going to be fun to work with" Miranda muttered.

"Oh dear, I've done it again, sorry about that, so what are you here for?" Mordin asked.

"Finally, I'm Commander Shepherd, I'm here to recruit you for a mission" Shepherd said. Mordin looked at him.

"Mission? What mission? Too busy. Clinic too understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" Mordin asked.

"Cerberus" Miranda said.

"Hmm, crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans?" Mordin said. "Why request salarian aid?"

"I'm on a mission to shut down the Collectors" Shepherd said.

"Collectors? Interesting. Plague in slums engineered. Collectors are one of the few with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar" he said. "But must stop plague first, already have cure, just need to get it environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

Shepherd sighed. "Couldn't be simple, could it?" he said. "I'll get in and deal with the Vorcha"

All of a sudden, it became darker, there was sound of machines powering down.

"What the hell is that?" Jacob said.

"Vorcha have shut down environmental controls, smarter than I give them credit for, Need to get systems back on be for district suffocates" Mordin said. "Here, take cure, also take weapon a gesture of good faith, took it of dead blue suns member"

"Got you, I'll see you in a bit" Shepherd said walking away.

"Wait" Mordin said. Shepherd stopped. "Daniel, one of my assistants. Went into Vorcha territory. Looking for victims. Hasn't come back"

"I'll keep an eye out" Shepherd said. Mordin nodded. "Let's go"

Aria was right, Mordin likes to talk, and fast, very fast - he reasons quickly and out loud. But he knew his stuff, and that's what he needed. On the way to the control center, they fought through crowds of blood pack mercs, they were tougher than the blue suns, but they didn't have the discipline and fell pretty easy. They went up a few more stairs, and heard some rough angry voices. They walked closer and came across some upset batarians who had a very scared Daniel at gunpoint. The team went slowly; one wrong move and Daniel could end up dead and possibly jeopardize getting Mordin to join them.

"I'm telling the truth, I work for Dr. Solus" Daniel said in fear. "I'm here to help you"

"We know you're spreading the virus" the batarian growled. "We saw vials"

"No they're the cure, please…" he said.

"Maybe we should cut off your fingers, to get you to talk" the batarian said.

"Or maybe you should let go of the kid, before this gets ugly" Shepherd said. The team entered the room, but one of the batarians saw them come in and warned his allies. The batarian with gun pointed at Daniel and grabbed him, and had the gun to the young man's head. The situation immediately turns into a standoff.

"One more step, and he dies" the batarian said angrily.

"Use your head for once, blink, why would he be in vorcha territory, they're immune" Shepherd said.

"Vorcha's are a race of bottom feeders, they don't have the knowledge to make this cure." The batarian said. "That only leaves humans"

"And yet you have no proof" Shepherd said. "Let the boy go, you live, kill him and you die, simple as that."

The batarians looked at each other, unsure if Shepherd's words were true. They stood a good couple of minutes, before letting Daniel go and putting away their weapons. "Fine, let's go, he's not worth it" he said. "Can we go now?"

"Go, and move fast before I change my mind" Shepherd said. The batarians nodded, and walked away as quickly as they could. Daniel got off the floor looking no worse for wear, though he was shaken from the experience.

"Thank you" Daniel said.

"Go back to the clinic" Shepherd said. "The doctor needs you"

Daniel nodded and walked away. "Of course, again thank you" With that the team continued to their destination. The environmental control room was large and dimly lit by orange light panels up in the high ceiling. Two catwalks flanked the rectangular chamber on each side of the group, both sporting low walls that no doubt hid various controls for staff that no longer lived...and now instead had several armed Vorcha standing behind them armed with rocket launchers.

Whoever had designed the place had an eye for decoration, which was strange for Omega, though the Spectre guess it must have been a lot nicer in the past when the protheans walked its halls. In the past, this was probably a courtyard at some point, from the decorations on the pillars surrounding the room, but now they were worn and covered with filth. Secondly, the many low walls around the central chamber were all meant to have flowers growing out of them, acting like long pots they were all filled with earth. Though now the plants were nothing but blackened and withered things.

The place may have been the classier part of Omega at some point, like the presidium was for the Citadel, but after the reapers claimed the protheans, it slowly decayed, a dire reminder of what Shepherd was fighting to prevent. However the reflection was cut short when they encounter an unusually talkative vorcha.

"Gah!" The Vorcha exclaimed in its serpentine accent, spittle flying from its mouth: "You work for doctor!" This one makes clear that they are in league with the Collectors. "Doctor wants to stop plague!" The Vorcha exclaimed, as if it was a great insult, its clawed hand shooting out to point at Shepherd. "We'll kill you!"

Then the world became a blur of flashing shots, explosions and screams. Jacob was aglow with biotic power, the man turning to the left as he pushed a hand out...only to close it into a fist and pull...and suddenly three Vorcha on the left catwalk hissed as they were pulled off the ledge and began to spin through the air.

"I got this" Shepherd said as he threw his warp field at the vorcha causing explosions. Miranda focused on the right though, pinpointing two Vorcha lining up shots at the standing Cerberus officer.

"Jacob!" she yelled. Jacob took the cue and pulled the vorcha from their cover. Miranda lifts the targets and slams them to the ground. Shepherd was impressed at the two, the fought very much in synch. One tumbled over the railing, falling to the floor below with a wet thump of breaking bones, the other simply dropped down onto the catwalk, head cracked open.

Thump after thump...and creature after creature fell, head and necks opened as they desperately increased their own volume of fire, which only made it even more inaccurate...

"I'm getting tired of them" Shepherd said as he got his heavy weapon out. It was a yellow and black cannon with a nuclear hazard mark on it.

Miranda's eye went wide. "Where did you get that?!" she asked.

"Found it before we left for Omega" he said as he pulled the trigger.

"Don't!" she yelled. But it was too late. The gun finished charging, and the now fully sized sphere flew out of the barrel with a loud thump. The recoil was incredible, and as Shepherd took a staggering step backwards to catch himself from falling. He watched as the orb sailed through the air and impacted the enemies. Shepherd smirked at the resulting explosion, which was spectacular to say the least. He could feel the shockwave knock him to his feet.

Shepherd laughed as he got off the ground. "I'm keeping this" he said.

"You idiot!" Miranda yelled. "The M-920 Cain, was experimental, you could have blown us up"

"But I didn't" Shepherd simply said. Miranda fumed, at his devil-may-care attitude, and the woman had to catch herself from trying to punch for his recklessness.

"Do you ever think, before doing these things?!" She asked angrily.

"Not really" he said. Miranda was speechless, her new Commander was insane. "Now that that's out-of-the-way, let's put this cure in" After it was done, they met with Mordin.

"Well done Shepherd, viral effects are decreasing and Vorcha retreating" Mordin said.

"And thank you for saving me, commander" Daniel said. "For a minute there, I thought you were going to kill them."

"Thought about at first" Shepherd said.

"Well I'm glad, the plague was bad enough" he said.

"Risky, would have killed them myself" Mordin said. Daniel looked at him.

"How could you say that? You're a doctor, you believe in helping people" he said outraged.

"The galaxy's not that simple, kid" Shepherd said.

"He's right, lots of ways to help people, sometimes cure the sick, sometimes execute dangerous people" Daniel was about to speak, Mordin held up his hand. "Go check on the patients, lots of work to do"

Daniel sighed. "Fine" he said in defeat.

"Good kid, though a bit naïve" Mordin said. "The clinic will be in good hands, now that Vorcha are gone"

Shepherd chuckled. "I almost envy him" He then grew serious. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, unexpected to be working with Cerberus, galaxy full of surprises" Mordin said.

"Good to have you on board" Shepherd said.

_Recruited Dr. Mordin Solus for the team. Examination of Omega plague cure confirms Dr. Solus's expertise. Can also use work on Omega as leverage against Aria if necessary.-Mission Summery _


	8. Chapter 7: Voyage

**Chapter 7: Voyage**

"You're still here?" a woman asked. Rael looked back to see his old friend, Admiral Shala'Rann vas Tonbay looking at him with cross arms. Rael simply ignored her, and went back to work.

"Greetings, Rann" Rael said.

"Don't' greeting Rann' me, Why weren't you there to see Tali off?" Rann asked firmly. Shala'Rann wasn't just an old friend of the Zorah family, she was practically like a second mother to Tali, taking care of her since his wife, Ziva, died.

"I can't show preference, you know that Rann, not even to Tali" Rael loved his daughter; no doubt, it was the reason he took the promotion to Admiral in the first place. However as devoted as he was to his only remaining family, he could get lost in his duties to his people, which caused some distance between him and his daughter.

"Keelah, it's not favoritism to say goodbye, it's called being a father…" Rael didn't respond and Rann sighed. "Why aren't you more worried about the fact, Tali is going behind enemy lines?"

"Tali is capable, she proved that when she was on her pilgrimage" Rael said. "Besides, it's for a good cause…"

"I hardly call studying a dying sun a good cause" Rann said. "The Conclave is up to something…"

Rael looked at her and frowned. "Enough Rann, we can't start questioning our people's trust, things are fragile enough as it is" The Admiralty Board and the Conclave had something of a rivalry even before the quarian's exile from the home world three hundred years ago. While the two governing bodies didn't trust each other, they kept this factor hidden so not to divide their people, through there were times where they tried to undermine each other.

"Of course, it's just me being worried, well I've got to go back to the Tonbay" Rann said. "But try to at least keep in touch with Tali, you may be an admiral, but you're still her father"

"Of course and Rann?" Rann looked back at Rael. "Tali's been different since coming back from that human colony with Veetor'Nara"

"Oh?"

"She's been happier despite losing her whole squad, why is that?"

"I don't know, maybe you should talk to her" Rann said walking out.

_**Shuttle**_

Meanwhile on the shuttle, Tali was meeting her new team, when she came back to the fleet she was at first worried that she was going to be reprimanded for losing Prazza and the other on Freedom's Progress. Instead, she was praised for coming back with Veetor and chosen to lead another mission, though in Tali's mind she didn't deserve it. She sat down with her own team as she saw the leader of her security team speak to his men.

"All right, bosh'tets, I'm only going to say this once so pay attention" Kal'Reegar said. Kal'Reegar was the older brother of Prazza, the man who betrayed her and got her team killed. When Tali heard she was going to be working with yet another Reegar, she was at first worried it would be another episode similar to his brother, but she was surprised just how opposite of Prazza he was. Reegar opened a hologram of a planet. "This is Haestrom, the smallest of our old colonies in geth space" he said. "But I don't think I need to tell you, to keep your guard up at all times, our job is to protect Tali'Zorah and her research team, so do your jobs well"

"Sir yes sir!" his men said.

"We've got eight hours until we get there, I suggest you get some rest" Reegar said. "Dismissed." The rest of the security team and Tali's research team scattered to get some rest, leaving Reegar and Tali. Reegar gave a sharp salute to Tali. "Ma'am"

"You don't have to call me that, Reegar, just Tali" They moved to the cockpit, to check the readings, while still in working condition this was still a three hundred year old ship which some system may not be working as well as they would hope, like the auto pilot.

"I'll work on that ma'am" Reegar said. "I have to say it is an honor working with on this mission" Tali lowered her head. "Ma'am?"

"Do you still think that after what happened on Freedom's Progress?" Tali asked sadly.

"If you're talking about Prazza, don't worry I don't blame you for my brother's death" he said. "I read your report on what happened, while I'm sorry Prazza is gone, it was his own fault, he let his own ego get in the way of the mission" He shook his head. "And got two good people killed...so don't worry about it"

"Thank you" Tali said as she looked at her holo. She sighed contentedly while staring at the picture of the Normandy crew. It always made her feel better when she got depressed about Shepherd's death, but this time while looking at it she was filled with hope.

"So that's your old crew?" Reegar asked. Tali smiled and nodded. "Can I look?" Tali gave the man the halo. "So strange, I can't really see myself working with so many races, must have been strange"

Tali chuckled. "It was at first, humans did so many things differently than quarians, it was hard to get adjusted at first" she said. "Plus everyone on the ground team had so many personalities that we came to blows at times"

"Still I'm surprised an alien would let a quarian serve on an advance prototype ship" he said. "Most races wouldn't spit our way much less recruit us, this Commander Shepherd seem to be quite the person, shame he's no longer alive"

"Actually, Reegar, Way…I mean Shepherd is alive, I met him on Freedom's Progress…" Tali told Reegar the story, how Prazza betrayed her and was killed by a reprogrammed mech, and how she helped Shepherd with defeat the mech. As she talked, she was careful not to include Shepherd and Cerberus as understanding as Reegar is, talking about that would be complicated.

"Huh, taking on a heavy mech, by himself, I can't tell if he's brave or just crazy" he said.

Tali giggled. "Trust me; I had the same thoughts myself"

_**The Normandy**_

Shepherd sneezed; he was in the lab with his shirt off while the cool air blew on him. "Mordin, is this necessary?"

"Yes, yes need blood test to find best way to counteract seeker swarm, will be quick" The team just made it back to the Normandy after recruiting the salarian for the team. Of course that was not before Miranda read Shepherd the riot act, on not picking up dangerous experimental weapon before they could be tested. And of course Shepherd argued back, making Jacob once again the peacekeeper. Once Mordin had been briefed on the mission, it didn't take long for the salarian to get to work, unfortunately his work involved needles. "There, test will take a while, impressive lab step up, missed working on an operation with a budget, AI very helpful"

Shepherd put his shirt back on. "So how's Daniel he settling in all right?"

"Quite well, safe and secured, left mechs just in case can't be too careful" Mordin said. "Glad to be away from mech. Too noisy, never had to deal with them back at STG"

"I heard you were STG" Shepherd said.

"Yes, not just research, but recon and occasional wetwork" Mordin said. "Very enjoyable, worked with a young Captain named Kirrahe.

Shepherd's head went down, when he heard Kirrahe's name, a good man who helped his team destroy Saren's base, he had also died on Virmire along with Ash. "I met a Kirrahe, on Virmire, I'm sorry to say he and his men died on the mission" he said sadly.

"I heard, such a shame, good leader" Mordin said. "Jury rig explosives, always knew how to get job done with limited resources"

"Were you too close?" Shepherd asked.

"Not really, all brawn little brain, bit of a cloaca" Mordin said simply. Shepherd was taken aback at how blunt he could be, not even Shepherd was that honest when talking about the dead. " Got job done regardless, enjoyed his little speeches, 'hold the line' though personally loved to get job done and go home"

"Probably military jargon, chest pounding er...no offense"

Shepherd chuckled. "None taken, so I guess you won't be on the next mission?"

"Should really check test, but ready when called" Mordin said.

"Eh, don't worry about it, I can get someone else to fill in" Shepherd opened his omni-tool and told Miranda and Zaeed to be ready after they rest a few.

_**Omega-Kenzo District**_

He was tired, it's been close to a week now since the mercs groups to take a stand and join together. They hired freelancers, rookies with no experience with promises of money to take him down; some of them may have needed it, after all this was Omega. But it didn't matter, they were just another target. Another one tries to take a shot at him, he shuts him down with bullet to the head, he hears another explosion in the distance and smirks another idiot taken down by the proxy mine. He's holding them off for now, but eventually they'll get smarter and pool all their resources, and when that happens he's done for. He's called Archangel, the guardian angel of Omega, but now the angel needed a guardian angel himself and soon…


	9. Chapter 8a: Archangel pt1

**Chapter 8a: Archangel Pt. 1**

_Archangel_

_- Small-unit tactical expertise_

_- Omni-tool expert and noted sniper_

_Archangel is a mercenary commander whose operations are noted for their technical expertise and strategic brilliance. He is responsible for high-profile attacks on gang leaders on Omega and can likely be found there.-dossier_

"That idiot!" Miranda was livid, although they were successful in recruiting Mordin, she was still angry at the recklessness of Shepherd.

"Calm down, Miri" Jacob said in his usual laid back way. "The mission's over and we're alive"

"That's not the point! He used an experimental weapon that could have easily backfired on us" she said. "If one thing went wrong, we would have ended up like those Vorcha" Jacob came up and grabbed her arm. Miranda looked at him and blushed.

"Hey, calm down" he said gently. "I don't get it; I've never seen you so riled up before."

Miranda sighed. "We spent billions on him, to bring him back to life, most people would try to be more careful, but it's like he has a death wish."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, I've never met anyone like Shepherd, but you seem to take it personal" Jacob said. "Why?"

"Because, it defies all logic" she said. "He treats this more like a game than anything else."

"Ah" he said. Miranda glared at him.

"What?" she asked.

"The classic battle of logic vs. instincts" Jacob said. "He gets under your skin, because of the fact he throws logic to wind, in many ways he's the exact opposite of you" he smirked. "The fact that his intuition, is trumping your data is driving you crazy" Miranda blushed and huffed as she pulled away from him.

"He's an idiot, whose recklessness, is going to get us killed." She said.

"Not everyone is you, Miri" Jacob said. "Just trust him, he hasn't gotten us killed yet" Jacob walked away.

"Wait!" she said. Jacob stopped. "Thanks for listening" Jacob smiled causing Miranda to blush again.

Miranda and Jacob had been friends since childhood, when they were little, Jacob had a crush on Miranda, while she had eyes for Niket, Jacob's brother, things all changed when they met up years, and he saw Jacob, not as the annoying little boy from their childhood, but a man. Miranda had always prided herself as the ice queen, someone who was above it all, but Jacob always had a way pierce that shell. She shook her head. _'That was then, this is now'_ she thought. She then heard her omni-tool beep, it was Shepherd.

"Yes, commander?" she asked.

"You and Zaeed are coming with me, so get ready" he said.

"Yes, commander" she said.

"You know, you can call me Shepherd, everyone else does." Shepherd said.

"Keeping things, professional" Miranda said.

"You know, we don't have to be enemies, we could be friends" he said.

"A mission like this, we have no time for friendship" she said. Shepherd smirked.

"That not what I see with Jacob" he said. Miranda glared at him. "Alright, alright, I'll leave you alone" Miranda went back to work.

_**Omega**_

The team went back to Omega to meet with Aria on the information on Archangel. Aria was out for a moment, making the team wait. They then heard footsteps, and saw Aria come up with a woman on each arm. When she saw Shepherd, see sent her dates down to a private room, and went to sit back on her throne.

"Shepherd, from the fact you're here I take it Mordin is now with you" Aria said.

"Yeah you were a big help" he said. "Now I need info on Archangel"

"You want to kill him too?" Aria asked.

Shepherd looked at her. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Aria scoffed. "He thinks he's fighting for the good side, there is no good side to Omega, everything he does piss someone off" she said. Shepherd smirked, that almost sounded familiar, if he was that straight-laced then, he could be a buffer between him and Cerberus. Get him to keep his mind clear, not let him forget what kind of people he was working for.

"Sounds perfect" he said.

"Well aren't you interesting, you're going to make a lot of enemies" she said. "Assuming you can get to him, he's in a bit of trouble"

"Explain" Shepherd said. "What kind of trouble?"

"The merc groups have joined forces to take down Archangel" Aria said. "They got him cornered, but seems they're having trouble finishing him off" She snorted. "They're starting to hire anyone with a gun"

"Good that's our ticket in" Zaeed said.

"They're using the private room for recruiting" she said.

"Which groups are after him?" Miranda said.

"The big three, The Blue Suns, Eclipse, and The Blood Pack" Aria said. "Unless they're at war, you'll never see them together, but one thing they hate more than each other is Archangel"

"What about you?" Shepherd asked.

"I don't have time for hate, but I distrust them all equally, for now I'm happy to see them kill each other" she said.

"Thanks" Shepherd said.

"See if you feel this way when the mercs know you're helping Archangel" Aria said.

The team went down stairs to meet with the mercs. "I hear you're recruiting" Shepherd said. The batarian pointed to the entrance. The team walked in, the room was small and nothing special, usually Shepherd would say that was the point, to not attract attention, but then this was Omega, no law enforcement. However it did had one thing going for it, it was in Afterlife which attracted people stupid enough to look for a job like this. Although, it was strange for Aria to let mercs do recruiting so close to her, was she that sure of her security?

"You three look like you could do damage" the batarian said. "Looking for a good fight?"

Shepherd smirked. "You could say that" he said.

"Good" he said. "You're all signed up"

Shepherd cracked his knuckle. "Where do we go?"

"Just go outside of the club, there will be a shuttle waiting for you" he said. "Send in the next one" The door opened and a kid came through, he looked no younger than seventeen.

"Hey, is this where I sign up?" the kid said.

"How old are you kid?" Shepherd asked. "You look a bit young to be freelancing as a merc"

The kid scoffed and puffed out his chest. "I'm old enough" he said. "I grew up on Omega I know how to use a gun" Shepherd sighed and shook his head in exasperation, he'd seen too many of his type before, young idiots doing something dangerous and stupid to look cool.

"So does Archangel" Zaeed said. "You'll just be target practice to him"

The kid frowned. "I can handle myself" he said showing his gun. "I just spent fifty credits on this" Shepherd took his gun and smashed it against the wall making parts of the gun fall out. Also for good measure he made sure the gun was jammed, making it further useless. The kid was speechless as Shepherd as gave him back the now broken.

"Get your money back, kid" he said. "It's not your time" The team walked out.

_**Omega-Kenzo District**_

The Kenzo District was full of winding tunnels, hidden entrances, and dead ends, perfect for a merc group that don't want their operation to be known by rivals, or vigilantes who wanted make a quick and clean kill. As the team walked to the meeting point, it was obvious from the piles of bodies they been seeing that even with freelancers, Archangel was trouble, so much trouble that they were using mechs just for one guy. A big mistake as Shepherd and Miranda was able to hack some of them, when the operation started they would have a huge surprise on their hands. Eventually they met up to the man leading the siege, a batarian, much to Shepherd's dismay. The batarian was pressing his back against the wall to the left of the large doorway that had been blocked up by a chest-high wall of old machinery and metal boxes. Compared to the shoddy hired gun, he looked like a professional. All of them we pressed up against the low wall, crouching low to evade the sniper fire on the other side of the bridge.

"Listen up! If you're smart you'll stay in cover" the batarian said. "You're here as a distraction! Something a corpse can't do!"

"How long do you think he's been fighting?" Miranda asked. Zaeed looked around.

"By looks of the damage, I say about a week" he said. "Archangel has been pounding them hard, but…"

"Eventually, Archangel will tire and the mercs will pick him apart" Shepherd finished.

"But you're lucky ladies; he's slowing down now, making mistakes, so if you keep moving, he won't get you...well...all of you." He said with a grin. "He's run out of those proximity mines your clumsy predecessors kept stumbling over, and his automatic turrets are all fried...it's just him now" All along the line the other freelancers crouched in readiness, staring at the wall before them, tense, pale and frightened...the Batarian's words not helping much. Shepherd shook his head in pity, some of those poor bastards would not be coming back. "Don't think it'll make things easy though, I've seen this guy shoot five freelancers in the head in a single row. So my advice: run like hell cause he will get headshots"

"At least it'll be painless." Zaeed said bluntly. The men near him paled when he heard what Zaeed said. One woman having second thoughts took a step back, only to fall back with a thump as her brain splattering all over the wall. There was much nervous chatter as some of the freelancers saw the woman dead body twitched; they were many whimpers and praying. Zaeed scoffed a the display. "Bloody amateurs"

The batarian listened to chatter in his com and smirked. " It's time" he said. "Go! Go! Go!"

All along the line freelancers reluctantly moved, some hesitating, others practically were crawling up the wall, still others leaping over in trying to be the first to reach cover. A lot of good it did as the first couple was shot before they could reach it.

"What's the plan?" Zaeed asked.

"Hang back for now; we need to play the part, until we get inside." Shepherd said activating his tech armor. Before him the bridge was a scene of destruction, pieces of broken mechs lay strewn about, what might have been a gunship lay on the right side, twisted and mangled...and all over there were broken limbs covered in cracked armor, many too burnt to be recognized as anything but black rocks. As the team moved forward, the freelancers around them were being mowed down by Archangel's sniper fire. Some of them tried to get at the man, but Archangel was just too fortified in his cover, he then took aim and fired spilling more blood. Then as Shepherd was getting close, he felt something big hit him hard in his chest making him stagger. He looked at the ground and saw a concussive round on the floor, it was a good thing he had his tech armor up, or otherwise that would have hurt. Shepherd glared at the man up top, just as he went back to cover, he was lucky Shepherd was coming to save his ass. "When I get to him, I'm kicking his ass" Shepherd muttered. The team eventually made it to the inside of Archangel, alone with the freelancers, it was time to let loose. "Now!"

Zaeed was the first to react, aiming for a dark-skinned woman taking cover behind one of the pillars on the edge of the bridge. He knocked her out of cover with a concussive shot and gunned her down. "Sorry 'bout that lass" he said.

Miranda blasted two mercs with her biotic field and then coolly placing her gun against their head and pulled the trigger. When she saw two freelancers going up the stair, she lifted them up and the slammed them down on the floor, snapping their necks. Shepherd mowed the mercs down with his shotgun, until his tech armor broke and knocked the mercs behind them down. The man tried to grab his gun, but Shepherd stepped on the man's arm and pulled the trigger.

Surprisingly enough most didn't seem aware of the betrayal, as the majority of the freelancers were either more focused getting across the bridge or tried to get at Archangel. Bad move on both accounts with the team waiting from them on the bottom and Archangel mowing them down with sniper fire. Zaeed jabbed his assault rifle into the gut of a grunting woman, then pulled the trigger, pouring rounds into her and three approaching enemies. Shepherd lifted four of them trying to flank Zaeed with his singularity and Miranda put them down with a warp. And then quiet, no more shouting or gunfire, it was over for now.

The team went upstairs to meet with Archangel, weapons drawn. The new room was lined with sleeping bunks and lockers, upon getting closer it were clear that it hasn't been slept on for good while. In the middle was Archangel waiting for them. Shepherd arched an eyebrow in surprise, he'd expected a Turian, but he hadn't expected a Turian wearing the blue and black armor of Citadel security. Shepherd instantly put away his weapon and gesture Zaeed and Miranda to do the same.

"Archangel?" Shepherd asked.

"I knew you were tough, but damn I didn't know you could come back from the dead." He said.

Shepherd recognized the voice. "Garrus?" he asked in disbelief. Miranda looked at him. The helmet slid upwards, a flow of blue blood running from the new opening as the helmet was released from the rest of the armor and taken off. Shepherd smirked.

"Welcome back, boss" Garrus with a smirk.


	10. Chapter 8b: Archangel pt2

**Chapter 8b: Archangel Pt. 2**

Shepherd couldn't keep a huge grin off his face, while he knew he was picking up a turian, he never imagined it was his old friend from the first Normandy_._ "Garrus, you crazy son of a bitch, how are you?" Shepherd greeted with a smile. Although he was glad the turian was safe, he had a bunch of question to ask. As it, After the Battle of the Citadel and Shepherd's death, Garrus reveals that he followed Shepard's example and created his own squad to enforce their own version of justice on Omega, leading to his current predicament.

"Just keeping my skills sharp, though I may have taken on more than I can handle" he said applying medi-gel to his face.

"No shit, how did you piss off all the top mercs on Omega?" Shepherd asked.

Garrus smirked. "Wasn't easy, I really had to work at it" Garrus said. "Though the fact they're teaming up, they must really hate me."

Miranda scoffed. "Glad to see you're enjoying yourself" she said sarcastically.

"How did you survive? We saw you get spaced." Garrus said.

Shepherd sighed. "It's a long story that requires lots of alcohol" he said.

"Well damn" Garrus said. "I'll have to hear it, though first we should get out of here"

"Can't be easy with all three groups down there licking their chops" Zaeed said.

"You're right, the best thing we can do is isolate them and each group separately" Garrus said.

"A crack in their defenses, worth trying" Shepherd said.

Miranda spoke up. "Or…" she said showing a map of the area. "We can escape through the tunnels; it would lead somewhere close to the Normandy."

"Sounds good" Garrus said. He looked down. "That plan is going to have to wait, they're coming"

"What is it?" Shepherd asked.

"Mechs, looks like we're dealing with Eclipse mercs" Garrus said. "A couple of LOKI mechs and two YMIR mechs"

Shepherd smirked. "Perfect" he said. Garrus looked at him. "We did a little sabotage on the mechs before we came here; it's going to be one hell of a surprise." Garrus looked down as the first eclipse merc came to the bridge was shot down by their mechs. Then the next and then another until chaos and pandemonium ensued as the mercs were now in a shootout with their own mechs. This gave the team the perfect opportunity for the team to get away. Garrus broke away and ran to the explosives the freelances left.

"What are you doing?" Miranda asked.

"Covering our tracks, help me with the bombs" he said. The team covers Garrus as he jury rigged the explosives. Each merc that was unlucky enough to get past the hacked geths were gunned down by Shepherd and team. Soon more Eclipse merc started to move to the bridge, mowing down the mech until the two YMIR mechs were left.

"Garrus? Move it; I think we're running out mechs" Garrus set the timer for forty seconds, just enough for the team to get out of there. They made it to the tunnels, after hearing a loud boom. They ran through the tunnels following Miranda's map, until they here growling.

"Shit varren" Shepherd said. The tunnels were flooded with varren and vorcha, they had escaped Eclipse and now they had to face the Blood Pack. "Zaeed, Garrus sniper support, Miranda you're on biotics with me" he ordered. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift the varren in the air; Miranda shut them down with her warp. Zaeed and Garrus shot the vorcha getting close to Shepherd and Miranda, though it wasn't easy as the aliens regenerated fast. One of the vorcha got close to Miranda, in his hand was a flamethrower. Miranda ducked behind cover as a stream of flames moved above her. Shepherd threw the pyro back, just as more vorcha started to reinforce their allies. Miranda returned the favor and overloaded the pyro's pack, causing him to explode and take his allies with him. They made a run for it.

"Which way?" Shepherd said.

"Next left" Miranda said. "Close that shutter" Zaeed pressed the button.

The corridor was as it always looked, filthy, downtrodden and supported by worn down pillars along the walls, making for good cover even as one wondered if too much damage to said pillars would make the entire complex of tunnels come apart."Be careful, these tunnels are old" Garrus said. And then there was a roar, a bloodthirsty, deep, reverberating roar. "Aw, shit"

A krogan in deep red armor charging at the team. "Who the fuck is that?" Zaeed asked.

"Garm, leader of the Blood pack" he said. "Watch out!"

Garm came in full throttle...his dark red armor a massive blur as he rushed at Shepherd standing his ground. Shepherd threw a couple of warps to slow him down, the krogan was fast and when he got close Garm smashed the spectre aside by Garm's shoulder drawing a pained gasp as the human as he was sent hurtling through the air and into the pillar behind. The tunnel shook from the impact.

"Not good, this place is falling apart" Garrus said.

Garm was nowhere near done though as he swung the flame-thrower in his claws towards Garrus...who with a curse ducked under the spray of fire, rolled away from a kick and stumbled wildly firing as the Krogan came close. The bullets were hitting their make, but the krogan's armor was tough, as he approached like nothing was happening. Garm pointed the flamethrower at the downed turian getting ready to fire. Zaeed and Miranda shot at Garm, hoping to get his attention, but the krogan glowed blue and fired off a shockwave, make them scatter. He turned to Garrus.

"You're mine Archangel! Now burn!" he roared. Shepherd stood up and rushed Garm firing bullet after bullet.

"Hey numb nuts…" he said. Garm turned around and Shepherd gave a swift biotic kick to the krogan's crotch. The Krogan grunted with pain and growled before his free hand swept round and gripped the human's head, drawing a gasp from the man as the claws began to close…"Fuck you!" he shouted as he gouged the krogan's eyes with his thumbs. The krogan roared in pain and let go of Shepherd, unfortunately Garm's blood rage kicked in and starting flail wildly hoping to hit one of them and instead smashed a pillar holding up part of the tunnel making it shake.

"Let's get out of here!" Miranda said. They ran leaving a blind Garm buried under rubble. Ahead of them were more mercenaries in the tunnel ready for a fight until they felt the rumblings also. Some of the mercs were smart enough to just turn tail and run, however the other half decided it would be a good idea to fire when everything was coming down around their head. Shepherd froze them in stasis fields, as the team ran pass them, and tunnel claimed them.

"Miranda" Shepherd said.

"Open area at the end of the tunnel" she said. As they got out of the tunnel, a light blinded the team, a gunship stood in their way.

"Shit, I thought I took care of that thing" Garrus growled. The gunship fires, scattering the team to cover, however the ship wasn't interest in them, it was after Garrus. The turian took pot shots at the ship while trying to find cover, the gunship fires its rockets and Garrus sent flying, and hits the floor hard. Shepherd paled as he sees his old friend not moving as the gunship moves in for the kill.

"Garrus!" Shepherd said taking out his rocket launcher. He runs out of cover firing at it, causing the machine to focus on him. "Hey over here, jackass!" He gave the pilot the finger and ran away leading the gunship away from Garrus. While Shepherd was getting its attention, Miranda ran over to the wounded turian and pulled Garrus over to the closest cover she could fine. When Shepherd saw the turian safe, he rolled into cover and let loose a barrage of missiles at the ship. Zaeed grabbed a heavy weapon of the ground and follow suit. Miranda gave the men covering fire with biotics. Even fully armored, the gunship couldn't handle the barrage of fire it was taken and careened wildly at the wall.

Shepherd ran over to Garrus who is lying in a pool of his own blood, and kneeling beside him. "Garrus?" he asked concerned. After a moment of silence his eyes open, he gasps for air, and he tightens his grip on his sniper pulling it closer to him. "Garrus!" He coughed up his blue blood and his eyes started to closed. "GARRUS!"

Miranda spoke up. "We can save him, but we have to hurry to the Normandy"

"R-right, let's go" he said. Shepherd got one side and Zaeed got the other and the team made their way to the Normandy, with the turian in tow. His life was hanging by a thread. Back on the Normandy, Garrus received medical attention, with Doctor Chakwas, Mordin and surprisingly Miranda volunteering to help the wounded turian. Shepherd was in the conference room pacing, not sure if he was going to come through. He then heard the door open and Jacob came in.

"How is he?" Shepherd asked concerned.

Jacob looked down." Dr. Chakwas and Mordin, did all they could, but he took a bad hit" he said. "He's been fitted some cybernetics and some surgery, so he'll have some functionality, but…" The door opened and in came Garrus walking in, like nothing happened, the left side of his face scarred. He was also in a new a new military-grade, blue-lit armor equipped with a dual-input communication headset.

"Shepherd…" he said.

Jacob chuckled a little. "Tough son of a bitch, didn't think he would be up yet"

"How bad is it? No one would give me a mirror" Garrus said. Shepherd smirked a little.

"It's going to show" Shepherd said with a smirk. "Although, it's probably an improvement considering before"

Garrus chuckled but stopped in pain. "Oh don't make me laugh, dammit my face is barely holding as it is" he said. "Aw well, it probably for the best, everyone was always hitting on me and ignoring you, time for you to get a fair shot at it" Jacob gave a salute and left.

"So how are you, really?" Shepherd said.

"I should be asking you" Garrus said. "How did you join Cerberus?"

"It's not like I had a choice, I was out of it for two whole years, it's only been weeks since I woke up" Shepherd said.

"Well I'm sure Tali will be ecstatic to know her bosh'tet is alive and well" he said.

"Already saw her, she said she would join up with us as she's done with her mission" Shepherd said.

"That's good, after you died everyone felt lost, Tali and Kaiden took it the hardest" Garrus said.

Shepherd lowered his head. "I know and I'm sorry for that" he said sadly. "How are you and Liara?"

Garrus lowered his head. "I don't know where she is" he said.

"What?"

"After you died, she just disappeared, didn't even say goodbye" he said. "Not even to me"

"I'm sorry…" Shepherd said.

"Don't be, I've been over it" he said. "So, where do I pack my things?"

"Put it in the forward batteries, it has a bedding area, also" Shepherd said.

"Thanks, just like old times, Shepherd" he said with a smirk.

After getting Garrus acquainted with the crew, Shepherd went to see Miranda. She was in her usually place, the desk doing paper work. Miranda was huge help earlier, her plan to go through the tunnel was almost brilliant, and not to mention the way she protected Garrus when he was out. It made him change the way he looked at her, that maybe they could be friends.

"Commander, what are you doing here? She asked.

"Look I know I gave you a hard time when we met, but thanks" he said. Miranda looked at him.

"For what?" she asked.

"For getting us out there and for protecting Garrus" Shepherd said.

"Just doing what the mission required." Miranda said. "There's no need to thank me"

"Sure, you did" Shepherd said. Miranda scoffed.

"What are you talking about?" she asked annoyed.

"You may fool everyone with your ice bitch routine, but you don't fool me" Shepherd said. "I saw the concern in your eyes when Garrus got hurt and again when I got hit, by that krogan and then there's Jac…"

"What's your point?" she asked.

"That you care, that you may not be the heartless Cerberus bitch you want everyone to believe you are" He said, "What I want to know, is why you try so hard?"

"I…have no idea what you're talking about" She said flinching a little.

"Sure you don't" Shepherd said with a smirk. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be here" he walked away.

Miranda scoffed and got back to work. On her face, was a sliver of a smile.

_Extracted Archangel from mercenary siege and recruited him for the team. Unclear whether injury to Archangel will impair his ability to assist in the mission. Regardless, revelation of identity as Garrus Valkarian useful in keeping Shepherd comfortable.-Mission Summary _


	11. Chapter 9: The Smiling Thief

**Chapter 9: The Smiling Thief**

_Kasumi __Goto_

_- Master of stealth and infiltration_

_- Skilled hacker and information specialist_

_- Operates completely off the grid_

_- No criminal record_

_Kasumi Goto is not the most famous thief in the galaxy - she's the best. Trained in the arts of stealth and infiltration, she has "acquired" artifacts and information from all over the galaxy and yet maintains a completely clean criminal record. She is awaiting rendezvous with Shepherd on the Citadel, in Zakera Ward.-Dossier_

Shepherd and Garrus was on the crew deck, talking, reminiscing about the old days of fighting rachni, the weird stuff they've seen. While it would never be like the old days, it was good to talk to someone who's been in the same mess as him. While Mordin, Miranda, and Jacob were just fine, he just missed the chemistry he had with his old crew. While talking, Shepherd came up with a crazy idea, making a reappearance back to the galaxy. "I'm sorry you said what?" Garrus asked.

Shepherd looked at him. "I'm going to the Citadel." He said.

"That's going to be a problem, considering we're basically affiliated with Cerberus" Garrus said.

Shepherd frowned. "But we're not…" He started.

Garrus put up his hand. "It wouldn't matter to them, in their eyes you would be considered Cerberus" he said. "Not mention, they don't believe us about the reapers"

"But, Anderson believes… he said.

"But he's just one person" Garrus said.

"I have to try, Garrus" Shepherd said. "This mission is big and we'll need every help we can get" Garrus sighed, the turian knew how stubborn and set in their way they were, and being dead for two years and just showing up out of the blue was not going to help things. He looked at Shepherd, he had a determined look on his face, which he was going to do it reguardless.

"There's no arguing with you, is there?" He said.

"Nope" Shepherd said with a smirk.

"Fine, I'll go too, for support when this blows up in your face"

"Thank for the vote of confidence" Shepherd said dryly. Miranda came in and gave him a data pad. "What's this?" he asked.

"Since you're going to the Citadel, we need you to pick someone up" she said. "Also, we need some supplies"

"Since when I am your errand boy? And don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?" Shepherd asked annoyed. Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Since you insist on asking the council for help, and it's not eavesdropping when I could hear your conversation from my room" she said. "Good luck with that by the way" She left to go back to her room.

"She's….friendly…" Garrus said.

"Like sandpaper to the ass" Shepherd muttered.

_**The Citadel**_

The Kodiak arrived at Zakera Ward docks. Shepherd sent off a message to Anderson announcing his arrival. Considering they were able to dock, means that they are welcomed. The Citadel looked different; with its new security systems though considering what happened two years ago, Shepherd wasn't surprised. As he looked around, a voice startled him. A halo-ad was set up by the docks. On it was a woman in a hood, and it felt like her eyes were following him as he walked. "Commander Shepherd. Enter the password, receive a free gift."

"Damn thing creeps me the hell out" Shepherd said "How do these ads already know who I am?" he asked.

"Who knows" Garrus answered. "Let's just get to the Presidium."

"Got problem with collectors? Try Kasumi's credit services!"

The two entered the light blue hallway with two large planes of glass to the left. A Turian C-Sec officer stood at a terminal in front of the entrance to the Wards. The Turian signaled them to stop. A blue beam went over them and hummed as the Turian scanned, a beep went off.

The officer activated his comm. unit. "Shut it down. What? Do you seriously think- Yeah, okay. Sorry about the inconvenience, sir. Our scanners are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're... dead."

"I was just…inactive for two years" Shepherd said. "Can you fix this?"

"Sorry, check in with my Captain. He should be able to get you entered into our systems. He's at the desk after this scanner, can't miss it"

The entrance opened up allowing Shepherd and Garrus, as they came out they heard a little shouting come out of one of the interrogation rooms. "Uh, Captain? We're not getting anywhere with him"

"Then beat it out of him, I don't care, I want that smuggling operation location and I want it now!"

Garrus smirked. "Impressive"

The C-Sec Captain saw Shepherd approach his desk, he looked like one of those rough beat cops from one of those old crime shows his dad used to watch when he was a kid. Another thing that was striking about the man that he was a pure blonde blue human, something that was very rare nowadays. "Ah, Commander Shepherd, Captain Armando Bailey. I see your problem. My console says you're dead."

"Yeah I heard" he said. "One of your men said you can help"

"Usually you'd have to go through the station's security administration to reactivate your IDs. Then to Customs and Immigration to regain access to the Citadel itself. And probably a stop by the treasury. Spending a year dead is a popular tax dodge."

The spectre crossed his arms. "I bet" Shepherd said annoyed.

"But I can see you're a busy man." He said unfazed by Shepherd's annoyance. Bailey hovered his finger over a button under his desk. "So how I press this button right here?" Bailey pressed several more buttons and his console beeped. "There. I just saved you nine days of running around. That said, you should head up to the Presidium and tell them you're still alive. The Council probably wants to talk to the one who saved their scaly asses."

"That was the plan" he said"

Shepherd walked towards one of the transport stations while he opened his omni-tool. He pressed a few buttons and a small screen popped up. While they were waiting for a transit Garrus let out a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"If only that guy was in charge two years ago…" He said.

The ride to the presidium was slow, but it allowed them to get a bird's eye view of the rest of the Citadel, Shepherd was curious how it fared after the Battle. A lot of the Citadel looked repaired or close to repair, Shepherd was impressed they get a lot of Citadel up in running after the devastation two years ago. "Seems things are coming along fine with the repairs"

Garrus scoffed. "Look again on this side" he said. Shepherd looked on the right side of the transport, and looked shocked. It was a different story on the other side, broken glass, warped beams, and lots of scorched areas. And lots of scavengers on the ground looking for their next meal, if it wasn't the Citadel, Shepherd could have mistaken it for a third-world country back on earth. "The richest parts of the Presidium were repaired first, and then the richest wards. The poor barely got attention, desperate for help; they came to some of the gangs, but…"

"They were taken advantaged of…" Shepherd said with a frown.

"Yeah, all the gangs that were small game before Saren's attack grew in power and kicked the old guard out" Garrus said. "Once they were in charge, the mortality rate doubled, it actually matched Omega one-time"

"What the fuck? Why didn't C-sec do anything?" Shepherd asked.

"C-Sec couldn't act due to the restructuring, Saren's attack spooked the council and the rich bigwigs on the Presidium so much that they were pouring money into tightening security to cut the possibility of geth infiltration, instituting "no-fly" lists, barring weapons and bio-amps, and even barring people from traveling in certain circumstances, no matter how unlikely the suspect." Garrus said angrily. "By the time it was all said and done, we had over forty gangs in the lower wards and counting, and a murder just about every day, I got fed up with bureaucratic bullshit and left"

"For Omega…" Shepherd said.

"Yeah a lot of good that did me" Garrus said bitterly.

"Don't beat yourself over it, Garrus," he answered. "What we're doing is more important on a galactic scale."

"I know, just seeing this pisses me off…"

The vehicle landed just to the side of the Embassies. Shepherd sent a message to Anderson stating when he would arrive. Shepherd and Garrus stepped out and made their way towards the human embassy. The doors slide open. Anderson was speaking with the three other Council members.

"Shepherd should be here in any..." Anderson looked to the door to see Shepherd, and Garrus walk in. He was dressed in a dark blue and red business suit. He gave a small smile, happy to see him; the Council on the other hand was less than pleased. "Oh, Commander. We were just talking about you."

"It's been a long time, Anderson," Shepherd said as he shook his hand. "I hope the last couple of years have treated you right."

"There have been some rough spots," he replied. Anderson then followed in a whispered tone, "It's good to have you back, son."

"We heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return," Valern interrupted. "Some of them are... unsettling."

"We called this meeting to explain your actions, Shepherd. We owe you that much" Tevos said.

"I need your help" Shepherd said. "The Collectors have been abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. Worse. We believe they are working for the Reapers."

"The Terminus systems are beyond our jurisdiction," Sparatus chided. "Your colonists knew this when they left Council space."

"And here we go again" Garrus muttered.

"You're missing the important part. The reapers are involved." Anderson said.

Sparatus scoffed. "Ah yes 'Reapers,'" Sparatus mocked while using finger quotes. "The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed those claims."

"Shepherd, no one else encountered the hologram on Ilos about the Reapers and only you and your squad ever spoke with Sovereign." Anderson said with a sigh.

"Go back to Ilos and talk to Vigil. Or look at Sovereign it obvious the tech is more advance than ours." Shepherd said.

"The hologram is no longer working and we have found nothing to suggest that Sovereign was not a geth ship." Valern said.

"The geth is capable of great technological advancement" Tevos said.

"This reaper theory just proves how much fragile your mental state is. You have been manipulated by Cerberus and Saren before" Sparatus said.

Shepherd sighed, after everything he's done for them, he was on his own…again. "So this was a waste of time" he said.

"Told ya" Garrus said.

"We are in a difficult situation, you are with Cerberus, an enemy of the council, this is treason, a capital offense." Tevos said. Shepherd glared at them.

"You got some fucking nerve to doubt my loyalty" Shepherd said angrily. "I sacrificed human lives to save your sorry asses, I deserve better than this!"

"Commander please," Tevos said. "Maybe a compromise. Not a public show of support given your ties, but peripheral support"

"Meaning?" Shepherd asked.

"You keep a low profile and restrict your activities to the Terminus system, and we'll reinstate you as a spectre" Sparatus said. Shepherd scoffed, he already knew what that meant, he had to be a good boy and stay out of Council space to not embarrass them. Two years later, and they were still arrogant assholes, he started to regret his decision to save them.

"Fine, if only to get you off my back" he said.

"Good luck, Commander, we hope for a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus" Tevos said. The images disappeared.

"Well that went better than expected" Anderson said. "You do realize the council's offer was symbolic, they just want you out of their hair"

"Yeah, well as long they get out of my way" he said. The doors to the embassy opened up to reveal a disgruntled Udina. Shepherd groaned, of all the people he wanted to see the least, Udina was one of them. "Anderson we need to talk about..." His eyes went to Shepherd and then he glared at him. "Shepherd... What are you doing here?"

"Oh you're here…To tell you the truth I was hoping you would be dead in some ditch somewhere" Shepherd said dryly. "So much for wishful thinking…"

"And I was hoping you stay dead…so you're not the only one disappointed" Udina said.

"I invited Shepherd here to speak with the Council. We just finished our meeting." Anderson said.

"You what?!" Udina gasped. "Councilor, do the words political shit-storm have any meaning to you?"

"The meeting went well. The Council reinstated my Spectre status and have given me permission to investigate the colony disappearances." Shepherd said. "So no shit storm for you"

Udina's brows rose. "Yes... That is good." He looked to Anderson with a chastising look, "But you really should not have made a decision like this without consulting me first... Councilor."

"You seem to forgetting that I don't answer to you, Udina" Anderson shot at him. "Why don't you go back to your office and think about that?"

"Of course, Councilor." Udina said calmly. "Good day to both of you." He left,although he left with no problem's Shepherd could tell that Udina was fuming, like he always did when he didn't get his way.

"Glad to see he hasn't changed" Shepherd said sarcastically. He then smirked. "You enjoyed that"

"One of the few perks of this job. Sorry about him. Udina never got over the fact that I got the Council position."

"Bitter bastard isn't he" Garrus said.

"That he is" They walked over to the balcony to look over the Presidium. "But if you need something done, he knows who can do it. And he likes going to all those diplomatic functions that I can't be bother with."

"How have the last couple of years been for you?" Shepherd asked.

"I didn't expect to spend my twilight years like this. It sometimes feels like I'm just banging my head against the wall. Knowing the truth about the Reapers is nightmare stuff. I don't blame anyone else for not believing. Anyway I should be asking how you've been." Anderson said.

Shepherd sighed. "I owe my life to Cerberus, god the galaxy sure loves its sick jokes" he said.

"I feel you" Anderson said. "But don't let that anger get in the way of your mission."

"Don't worry I've been over it" Shepherd let out a sigh. "So where's Kaiden?"

"Commander Alenko is on an assignment. Top secret. I would tell you, but I don't want any possibility of compromising the mission. But I will contact him when it over. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you again."

Shepherd chuckled. "Either that or he'll be pissed that I haven't sent him a message in two years."

"Can't exactly blame you for that. Being in a coma does that." Anderson said.

"I better go" Shepherd said.

"Of course, Shepherd" Anderson said. "Just do me favor and be careful. You can't trust Cerberus"

"Preaching to the choir" Shepherd said.

Shepherd and Garrus made their way back to the docks, after doing some shopping, despite the cold reception from the Council it was good to see Anderson again. They were just about to take the shuttle back the advertisement screamed at them.

"HEY! How long are you going to ignore me?" Shepherd looked to the advertisement with a raised brow, now remembering he had to pick up someone. "Finally got your attention? I've been waiting around here for a few hours now." Shepherd looked up and saw the hooded woman jump down to meet the duo. She wore a tight black catsuit with a hood, her lips had lipstick but only a small block on her bottom lip. Her body language showed a very annoyed woman.

"Kasumi right?" Shepherd asked. Kasumi blinked.

"If you knew, then why?" she asked.

"Hey don't blame me, most normal people actually talk to people" he said walking away. "Anyway, if you're coming let's go"

"Wait, I have a friend, she's Quarian, and you don't get me without her" she said. She then got a beep, she activated her omni-tool and an image of a Quarian appeared. "Lia?"

"Um, Kasumi I may have gotten have gotten into a bit of trouble" Lia said nervously.

"How big?" Kasumi asked.

"C-sec is planning to arrest me, please help" she said meekly.

Kasumi sighed. "That girl…" she said. "Can you help me?"

"Do I have a choice?" Shepherd asked annoyed.

Kasumi laughed. "You are definitely Sakura's son"

Shepherd looked at her. "How do you know, my mother?" Shepherd asked.

"Well I don't know her, I knew about her from my mom, Megumi Sakai" She said. Shepherd eyes widen.

"Sakai? That was my mom's maiden name" Shepherd said. "Wait you couldn't be…"

Kasumi smiled. "Hi cuz" she said.


	12. Chapter 10: Family History

**Chapter 10: Family History**

As Shepherd and Garrus made their way to Kasumi's friend on the Citadel, they were still wrapping their heads around the fact; the newest member of the Normandy crew was in fact a relative of Shepherd. At first, Shepherd didn't believe her and asked for some proof, she did she opened a halo of her family, and he saw her his mother as a little girl sitting with her younger sister Megumi. Shepherd couldn't help but smile, it was good to see that part of his family, it made him feel whole.

"Who would have guessed?" Garrus said.

"Yeah, I know a lot about the people on my dad's side, but when I asked about my mom's side, things became awkward" Shepherd said. He remembered the long silences, the awkward answers for why he could see his mom's family. It gotten to the point where Shepherd had stopped asking, because it was obvious he wasn't going to get an answer. He would hope Kasumi could share with him some stories, how his Aunt and Uncle were like, what his grandparents were like, and why they never bothered to contact his family, especially after Mindoir.

"I know what you mean, I knew that my mom had a sister, but she never talked about her, especially when it came to if she had a kid" Kasumi said.

"How did you find out?" Shepherd asked.

"My mom had a diary, and I kind of hacked it" She said with smirk. Shepherd raised a brow. "Hey, it wasn't like she would tell me"

"What did you find out?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, I'm curious too." Shepherd said.

Kasumi smiled. "Okay, first things first, our family came from money, you see, the Sakai family is one of the richest families in Tokyo" Kasumi went on to explained that the Sakai family owned a huge electronics company that owned Aldrin Labs, the leading human manufacturer of Armors, omni-tools, and bio-amps that was used for the Alliance. This info surprised Shepherd surprised, his mom was from a very rich family, she could have lived her life in luxury, but instead she became a simple school teacher on a small farming colony.

"Really? I wonder why mom never said anything." Shepherd asked.

"It wasn't a happy time, as much as we like to think we've advanced, some things stay the same" She said. "Your mom was actually offered to someone else"

"Wait you mean, like an arranged marriage?" Shepherd asked.

"Yeah, exactly what I meant" Kasumi said. "She was promised to Hiroshi Sanada, member of the Sanada household, another rich family, since she was little" She sighed. "Hiroshi is my father"

Shepherd eyes grew wide. "So the man who was promised to my mom, is my uncle" he said. "What changed?"

Kasumi smiled. "Your father" She said. "Do you know how your mom and dad met?"

"Yeah, it was the only thing I could get out of them" Shepherd said. "Dad had gotten an Alliance scholarship for engineering, and went to the University of Tokyo, since it had one of the best engineering programs on earth, that was when he met mom"

"According to my mom's diary, it was love at first sight" She said with a smile. "However…"

"I take it grandpa was not happy" Shepherd said.

"Neither was my father" Kasumi said. She scoffed. "He only wanted the money and prestige, he would be damned if a gaijin got in the way, it almost turned violent"

"Huh, I never knew" Shepherd said.

"They eloped, my mother was the only to know…but it didn't last" Kasumi said. "Grandpa Ginrei found out, and threatened to disown her if she didn't tell him."

Shepherd scoffed. "Then he disowned my mom" Kasumi shook her head.

"No, not right away, in fact grandpa thought Auntie Sakura, would come to her senses" she said. "He did it after, one significant event"

Shepherd clenched his fist. "When I was born…" Shepherd said.

Kasumi nodded sadly. "Yeah, it was done quietly of course, so it wouldn't embarrass the family."

Shepherd was silent for a while, which worried Garrus and Kasumi, he wanted to hear about his family, but instead he got the opposite. The reason he never knew that side was because, he and his sister were the embarrassments, the skeleton in the closet. Now he understood why his parents never told him, because they didn't want him to think he was a mistake, after all the most damaging thing you could say to a child that he was unwanted. "What about you?"

Kasumi looked down. "Hiroshi married my mom, and couple of years later I was born." Kasumi said sadly. "It wasn't a marriage of love, like your parents, it was one of convenience, Hiroshi never loved mom, just the prestige that comes with being affiliated with a Sakai, it was even more clear after her death."

"I'm sorry…" Shepherd said.

"Don't be" Kasumi said. "When I got older, I left and changed my name and never looked back"

"Well, welcome aboard, cuz" Shepherd said with a smile. They made it to the lower wards and saw a female Quarian, a human C-sec officer, and a volus. The quarian had on a grey and white suit, she looked how Tali was when he met her two years ago. She was arguing with a very irate volus with a C-sec officer trying to break them up. The quarian looked at the team approaching.

"Kasumi-kun!" Lia said excitedly. Kasumi smiled and nodded.

"What's going on here?" Shepherd asked.

"Sorry trying to take a statement here" the officer said.

"There's nothing to talk about she stole my credit chit" the volus said angrily pointing Lia. "Arrest her!"

"I did not, I told you I was just waiting here for my friend and this volus bumped into me" Lia said angrily. "You only blaming me because I'm a Quarian"

"Stop and take a deep breath, both of you" the officer said.

"You're mocking me, Earth-clan" he said angrily. "Just because the vol-clan needs…"

"A poor choice of words, I apologize" he said. Kasumi spoke up.

"Officer, I know this girl, she didn't steal anything, and she's a good kid" she said.

"I was just waiting here after checking out the stores and this guy just bumps into me, seconds later he runs up with C-sec and accuses me of stealing" Lia said.

"Maybe the chit fell" Garrus said.

"Maybe, all I know is that I didn't do it" she said.

"You could have stashed it for later, we know how you Quarians are like" the officer said. Shepherd glared at him.

"What? How the fuck the do you know?" Shepherd said. "Did she have it?"

"Uh, well no" the officer said.

"So you're accusing this girl and you don't have proof?" Shepherd asked. "I think you two need to get the fuck out of here" The c-sec officer stance grew threating.

"How about I run you in for obstruction of justice?" the officer sneered. Garrus grabbed his collar.

"What part of any of this is justice?" Garrus growled. "You're an insult to the uniform"

"Get your hands off me, before I arrest all of you" the officer said. The officer was lifted bioticly. "W-what?" he faced Shepherd.

"Tell me do you know what above the law mean?" Shepherd asked. "It means a Spectre and anyone working with him, guess what I am?"

The officer eyes grew wide. "Uh…I…Uh" he stammered. Shepherd dropped him.

"Not that you know, get out of here, before I decide to use it" he threatened. The volus and officer ran.

Lia ran to Kasumi and hugged her. "Thank you, onē-san" she said. She looked at Shepherd and Garrus. "So you found them?"

"Yep, we'll be working with them" Kasumi said. Lia walked in front of them and bowed.

The team walked back to the ship, Lia seemed to be in good spirits despite the volus and the C-sec officer acting like jack-asses to her. Lia was very perky quarian, but it could have been because she was a young. They had to stop sometimes, because of Lia's curiosity, which meant she hasn't been traveling for long. "I'm surprised, Lia know some Japanese words" Shepherd said.

"I thought her some when she was younger" Kasumi said.

"Really? She's of pilgrimage age now, how did you get the Migrant fleet to let you in?" Shepherd asked.

Kasumi looked at him. "Lia wasn't born on the Migrant Fleet, she's a nedas."

"A who?" he asked.

"She is the child of exiles" Kasumi said sadly. "She knows next to nothing about Quarian culture, other than what her parents have told her"

"So how does she have a suit if she's exiled?" Shepherd asked.

"Another exile made a suit for her" She said. "It was a community of exiles, that's where she was born"

"So that's why you wanted me to accept her along with you" Shepherd realized.

"Yeah, there's a chance for her to reconnect with her culture" she said. "It was a final wish from her parents"

"I can respect that" he said. "So is that only thing that needs to be resolved" Kasumi smirked.

"Well…" she said.

Shepherd sighed. "What is it?" Shepherd asked annoyed.

"My deal with Cerberus was to gain your assistance in retrieving something that belongs to me." She said.

"What exactly?" he asked.

"My former partner, Okota's greybox. Keiji came across some Alliance information. Very important information. He was caught and killed by a criminal warlord by the name of Donovan Hock who wanted this information." Kasumi said.

"What did he find out?" Shepherd asked.

"He didn't say. Keiji just said that it could cause a war." She said.

"Perfect…" Shepherd muttered. The team arrived at the Normandy.

"Wow…" Lia said in awe. "This is yours?"

"Yep, welcome aboard kid" Shepherd said. "You'll be rooming with Kasumi"

"Ok" she said and went off to explore the ship.

"Just one question, Kasumi, what skills does she have, this isn't a pleasure cruise" Shepherd said.

"She's pretty good with tech, not as good as someone from the Fleet, but she did design my stealth cloak." She said.

Shepherd smirked, "She going to fit in with engineering, she can learn from Donnelly and Gabby until Tali comes on board."

Kasumi raised a brow. "Who's Tali?"

Shepherd blushed. "She's my…uh…girlfriend from the Migrant Fleet" she said.

Kasumi smirked. "So that's why you were quick to defend Lia" she said. "I can't wait to meet her, all the family stories I could share"

"We don't have family stories, I just found out I got a thief for a cousin just today" Shepherd said annoyed.

"I know just teasing you, have to make lost time somewhere" she joked. She then disappeared. "I'll see you later, cuz" Shepherd sighed and Garrus chuckled.

"What?" he asked annoyed.

"You have the weirdest taste in recruiting," Garrus said.

"Recruited you didn't I?"

"Point taken. Things have gotten a lot more interesting" Garrus said with a smirk.

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "Whatever" he said. "I just wonder how long before Miranda finds out"

"SHEPHERD!" Miranda yelled.

Shepherd groaned. "This is going to be fun" he muttered. Back on the ship, Shepherd helped Lia and Kasumi accustomed to the crew. The crew just adored Lia, especially Gabby and Donnelly, he smiled at that, it reminded him of the old days of how Adams and the engineers treated Tali. As for Kasumi, she settled in just fine, she was quite popular with some of the male members of the crew. Kasumi, despite being thief based on stealth was very sociable, when she wasn't disappearing to keep her skills sharp. After getting them settled in Shepherd went to see Miranda, who had calmed down from her little tirade on bring in people who were not part of the mission plan.

"So how's our newest member?" Miranda asked.

"Fine, the crew loves them, they really lightened up the place" Shepherd said.

Miranda scoffed. "This is a war ship not a cruise, if they can prove their usefulness, then they can stay"

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "Whatever" he said. "I just wanted to ask you something"

"What?" Miranda asked while doing paperwork.

"Did Cerberus know that Kasumi was my cousin?"

Miranda looked at him. "No, we did not, though the Illusive Man had suspected something when he mentioned your name, she took his offer very quickly" she said. "Why?"

"Nothing just curious…" Shepherd said turning.

"Shepherd, I know you have concerns about our organization, but we aren't as evil as people think, I hope that one day you'll see that" she said.

"Maybe…we'll see in the future" he said walking away.


	13. Chapter 11a: The Convict pt1

**Chapter 11a: Convict pt. 1**

_Originally an "ark ship" designed to carry agricultural animals; the Purgatory was taken by the Blue Suns mercenary company during a large-scale battle in the Skyllian Verge. In a years-long reconstruction of its interior, the Blue Suns repurposed it to hold sapient prisoners, supposedly because they captured so many in their conflicts throughout the galaxy. When media outlets started investigating claims that the ship was used for slaving operations, the Blue Suns turned a public relations nightmare into a regular income source._

_Claiming to be in full accordance with Citadel law. the crew of Purgatory now regularly lands on planets or space stations claiming that they can no longer hold their prisoners because of cost overruns. To avoid keeping prisoners under inhumane conditions, they will have to release them at the nearest port, dumping the scum of the galaxy directly into the local population. Faced with such a scenario, the government usually grants Purgatory's crew massive discounts in fuel, food, and repairs as long as they go away. Some even offload their own prisoners to Purgatory for a fee, grateful to have a problem relocated somewhere other than their backyard. Such unfortunates go in the dark depths of the ship, never to be seen again by their families or contacts._

_Purgatory is minimally armed with GARDIAN defenses. Though a cruiser-weight ship, it relies on the Blue Suns' fighters to prevent any attacks bent on a jailbreak or similar events.-Codex _

Purgatory was big. Though Shepherd didn't feel particular awed, he'd been face to face with a Reaper after all, but it was...surprising that such a massive station could exist in space, solely with the purpose of housing criminals. Shepherd saw the blue suns at the entrance and could only smirk at the irony of the situation. The blue suns were no darlings of law enforcement themselves and yet were in charge of playing warden for the worse scum in the galaxy, how could he not find it funny?

"I wonder how much it cost to upkeep this place" Kasumi said.

"I doubt we want to find out" Garrus said.

"Come on" Shepherd said.

As the team moved, the team is confronted by several guards that insist that the squad relinquish their weapons. "This high security vessel, please drop all you weapons" one of the guards said. _'How stupid do they think I am?'_ The team instantly raised their weapons, and a standoff took place. He and the others could kill the guards easily and Shepherd would be happy to send them to an early grave himself, but according to Miranda, he had to play nice if they were going to get their new recruit out here.

"Go to hell" Shepherd said.

"Everyone stand down" a voice said. A turian in blue armor walked down to meet Shepherd. The guards stood down. "Commander Shepherd, welcome to Purgatory." He said politely. "I'm Warden Kuril, as this is my ship; you are to relinquish all your weapons"

"And I say go to hell" Shepherd said. The two stared down until the Warden sighed.

"You can proceed, this ship is more than capable of handling three armed people" Kuril said.

"As long as we understand" Shepherd said. "Now, I'm sure you want me to relieve you of one of your guests?" Shepherd held back the grimace at the casual question. He had...issues with the whole thing. This was a lot like buying a slave, and after knowing what Talitha went through, it made him sick to his stomach.

"Yes, as soon as your funds clear, of course." Kuril replied. "Until then Jack will stay in cryo"

"Of course" Shepherd said. _'Cryo, exactly how dangerous is this guy?'_

The Warden and the team made their way through to the prison; Shepherd took the moment to look around the prison. While it looked nothing special, it definitely looked hard to break out of as he saw two prisoners that were fighting being separated by kinetic energy fields. From the looks of the tech, the blue suns were funded well. "I must admit...I'm impressed." Shepherd said.

"As you should." He said. "Escape attempts are rare and always unsuccessful, and even if they did get out...where would they go? There's a reason I put this facility in space."

"Do you sell a lot of prisoners? It strikes me as bad for business if these client planets of yours got wind of you selling what you're supposed to guard." Garrus said barely containing his disgust.

"When it happens we stop taking the fee from the criminal's home world along with an assurance that the prisoner will not be a problem for them any longer, those that buy the prisoners usually do so to personally kill them, you see." The warden said.

"How noble of you" Kasumi said dryly. He then stopped at an intersection in the corridor, the rest of the group grounding to a halt as the man turned to his guests.

"This is where we part ways; I will make sure Jack is prepared for transport." Kuril said. "Keep following this corridor and you'll be in processing. Can't miss it." Shepherd nodded as Kuril walked away. As the team walked down to the processing room, they were met with a disturbing sight of one of the blue suns beating one of their prisoners. Next they saw some of the other prisoners, some more disturbed than others.

"I don't like this place" Kasumi said. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

"I know you mean I keep on expecting them to double-cross us" Garrus said.

"Hey, don't jinx us now" Shepherd said.

They continued down the hallway until they reach the door to out-processing. The room was surprisingly large; a few empty desks ahead making it look like something akin to a large reception area, something one might use to strip prisoners before they were moved into. The tech at the entrance directed them to the door at the end of the room. Shepherd opened the door and a com open.

"My apologies Shepherd, you're more valuable as a prisoner than customer" the warden said. Shepherd sighed and looked at Garrus.

"I told you not to jinx us" Shepherd said.

The turian shrugged. "But I was right" Garrus said. Kasumi spoke up.

"Um, boys maybe we can finish this later?" Kasumi said pointing to the door behind them.

The guards and mechs flooded the room. "Oh...right. Get to cover!" Shepherd said. The team follow suit. The first wave was a couple of mechs and FENRIS mechs, Garrus gave the team sniper support, but the gear of the mercs proved to be very tough. Kasumi disappeared and was behind the opposition, catching the mercs off guard as the thief gunned them down with her SMG. The FENRIS mechs came in rushing for Shepherd trying to bulldog him out of cover. Shepherd used his Singularity field to lift them up and destroyed them with a warp field. The com opened.

"Don't bother, I have enough guards to beat even you Shepherd, make it easy on yourself and proceed into the cell and I'll forget you put up a fight." Kuril said.

"An endless supply of cannon fodder, I didn't know you cared" Shepherd said. "And nope...can't really see myself surrendering."

"You will regret this later..." Kuril growled. "You're worth a fortune alive...but dead will work too."

"You're not first two-bit thug to threaten me and you won't be the last" Shepherd said. "Bring it, I'm right here." The spectre then heard some clanking near the door and LOKI mechs came in and fired on Kasumi. The thief disappears and reappears to Shepherd's side with a very annoyed look on her face.

"You and your big mouth…" She said annoyed. Shepherd shrugged and got his arc projector out and blasts the group of mechs and guards. Kasumi threw flash bangs to blind the enemy while Garrus mowed them down with his assault rifle. The area was cleared.

"Let's go" Shepherd ordered. The team pushed the enemies and went through corridors after corridors, until they reached an office. A man in a white coat, tried to fire on Shepherd, but his gun didn't even damage his shield. The spectre raised his pistol and shoots him in the head. "Lock the door" he said. Kasumi nodded.

"Shepherd" Garrus said. Shepherd looked at him. "I found the cryo controls"

"Nice, then we can release Jack" he said.

"You sure about this, Jack is probably here for reason" Garrus said. "Plus, from the looks of it releasing Jack, will release the other prisoners"

"Do it, we can use the confusion to find Jack" Shepherd said.

Garrus sighed. "Ok…" Garrus said. Garrus pressed the release button. The arms came up and grabbed a cylindrical container. The container opens, revealing a huge surprise; Jack wasn't a huge man everyone was thinking, but a small woman. Even by prisoner standards she was poorly dressed, her pants hung low on her bony hips and were torn and covered in brown grime, her boots looked equally damaged and filthy...and unless one counted the tattoos covering her body that was all she wore. She even lacked hair.

"That's Jack?" Kasumi asked in disbelief.

"She doesn't look so dangerous…" Shepherd said. He then saw her hand move. The three YMIR mechs activated. She was waking up, and clearly angry at her incarceration. Jack broke out of her restraints and doubled over still weak from the cyro-sleep. The YMIR mechs faced Jack and started to aim their guns at the woman. She then started to glow blue. Her biotic power was unlike anything Shepherd had seen, it was like her power was seeping from her skin, unable to contain it all within her small body. Even from the control room, they could see Jack's biotics bend and distort the metal from her prison. She glared murderously at the mechs and with a feral roar; she charged at the mechs and ripped them apart like tissue paper. One of the mechs, tried to fire at her, but she held out her hand and engulfed the mech in dark energy and stared to crush the like a can until it ruptured and exploded. The last and final mech fired a missile at the woman and she bioticly stopped the missile and threw it back like it was nothing, when it was staggered she rushed the mech unleashes her massive biotic powers. The force of her powers were so great it cause the team to stagger back. She then ran off as the alarm sounded.

"Holy…" Shepherd said on awe.

"So that's why they needed three heavy mechs to guard her" Kasumi said. "She a one woman army"

"We have to get down there" Garrus said.

"Let's go" Shepherd ordered. The team went down stairs only to find that she had blasted a hole in the wall and while the YMIR Mechs were in ruins. Shepherd was starting to wonder if she wanted someone that powerful and volatile on his ship. His thoughts were then interrupted by an alarm.

"Warning. Warning" The ship VI said. "All prisoners have escaped, repeat all prisoners have escaped."

The com opened throughout the ship. "All guards restore order; stop the prisoners, lethal force is authorized."

"They're attacking Jack!" Kasumi said. The rumble of the ship almost made the team fall over.

"Even worse, I think the ship's coming down" Garrus said.

Shepherd groaned. "Why can't things ever be simple for once?" Shepherd muttered. The team raced to find Jack and all around them they had to face Blue Sun guards, crazy escaped prisoners, and a ship going down.

Time was not on their side.


	14. Chapter 11b: The Convict pt2

**Chapter 11b: The Convict pt.2 **

_Jack (no last name known)_

_- Exceptional biotic ability_

_- Note: Criminal background, currently in custody_

_Jack is rumored to be the most powerful human biotic ever encountered. Very little additional data regarding Jack is available, except that the subject has a history of violence and should be approached carefully. Currently, Jack is being held on the turian prison ship Purgatory. Cerberus has negotiated for the prisoner's release-dossier._

"Sections five, seven, and eight have lost power" The VI said.

"Damn it!" Kueril said on the com. "Jack's loose! All units! Jack's loose! I need all units to recapture her!" Chaos was the word to describe what was happening in Purgatory. After releasing Jack from cryo, everything went to hell, the prisoners got out of their cells and instead trying to escape, they decided to fight back; however this distraction was perfect for the team, made it easier move around the ship. Until they had to fight both the blue suns and the prisoners, while not a problem, annoyed Shepherd to no end.

"Where do you think she went?" Kasumi asked.

"She probably joined in with the fighting" Garrus said.

Ahead, an explosion rocked the corridor; black smoke blew in from the wall to the left as it broke apart, three men in rags stumbling out. One crying out in victory as he raised a steel rod smeared in blue blood, his other arm dragging the broken body of a Turian guard behind. He threw down the body as his buddies started to beat on the corpse with a sickening glee. Shepherd frowned at the sight, he had no problem killing blue suns, but he had a problem with defiling a corpse like they did. He was ruthless yes, but he drew the line at sadism. The three men heard their approach and turned to attack with one of them screaming something incoherently, as he took out a grenade and ran towards them. Shepherd calmly raised his hand and blew the man back with biotic throw, knocking him and his friends to the ground. The spectre then took out his gun and shot the grenade and it went off with a boom, the explosion tearing the prisoners into little lumps of torn flesh that flew in all directions.

"I may not have liked how they did business, but there's reason those people are here" Garrus said.

"Yeah" Shepherd said. "Without Purgatory, the galaxy's better off with them dead..." The team made it out of the corridor, as more and more of the ship was falling apart. Although the blue suns were formidable, they just didn't have the sheer numbers that the prisoners had and worse they were starting to out gun the mercs.

"Return to cell or I'm opening the entire airlocks on the ship" Kuril said over the com.

"Kuril has lost control of this place" Kasumi said. "He's getting desperate"

"Heavy mech incoming" Garrus said. The mech came in guns blazing mowing down prisoners left and right. When they were all dead, the mech had the team in its sights. The mech was reinforced by more blue sun. Shepherd got out his heavy weapon and fired. The blast of electricity finished the guards, but not the heavy mech.

"Garrus and Kasumi overload its shields" Shepherd said. While the two was working on their omni-tools Shepherd gave firing support with his submachine gun. "Anytime would be nice" Shepherd said. Garrus and Kasumi raised their arm and the blasted its shields. Shepherd used his arc Projector to finish it off.

Another wave of mercenaries came through the corridor. Kasumi pulled out a grenade. "Flash bang!" She tossed the grenade at the charging group. The squad took cover behind the crates. The grenade exploded and flashed, stunning the group of mercs. Shepherd and Garrus then finished them off. They ran to the door to see Kuril killing more prisoners.

"You're valuable Shepherd, I could have sold you and lived like a king" Kuril said angrily. "But you're too much trouble; at least I can recapture Jack"

"If you couldn't catch me what makes you think you can catch Jack" Shepherd said. "Face it, you lost, this whole operation is done, I'll see to it"

"I do the hard things civil governments are unwilling to!" He said. "This is for the good of the galaxy"

"You're a two-bit slave trader" Shepherd said with venom. "And I'm shutting you down" Shepherd blasted the warden with a warp, it dissipated instantly. "What?!"

Kuril laughed as a blue barrier enveloped him. "You can't win Shepherd, I have a lot more tricks under my sleeves" The team tried different tactics to deal with the warden, but the barrier stopped their efforts cold.

"Shit, we're not getting anywhere with this" Shepherd said.

"We almost out of heat sinks, we need to finish this" Garrus said. Kasumi spoke up.

"Guys do you hear that?" Kasumi asked. Shepherd and Garrus looked at her.

"Like what?" Garrus asked.

"Like someone yelling" She said. The yelling grew louder. Kasumi pointed up. "Look"

A blue light came falling in and landed on the warden's barrier. Kuril paled. "J-jack what are you?" he asked in fear. Jack gave a feral roar and blasted the bubble over and over with shockwaves. Kuril laughed. "It's pointless, not even you can break this, give up Jack" She ignored him.

"What's she doing?" Garrus asked. "All she's doing is tiring herself out" The team watched as she blasted it more and more.

"Give it up, Jack" the warden said becoming more nervous. The barrier faded in and out from the strain.

"Garrus switch to assault rifle, Kasumi, submachine gun" Shepherd ordered as he glowed blue. "That barrier can't handle sustained hits."

While Shepherd and Jack pounded the barrier with biotics, Garrus and Kasumi fired with their weapons; the barrier could not handle the strain and eventually burst. Now there was nothing to between the warden and Jack's wrath.

"Jack, please, maybe we can work something out" Kuril said backing up on the ground. Jack held her murderous gaze on Kuril. Jack lifted Kuril with her biotics and threw him to the floor. Jack wasn't done as she walked towards the frightened turian and grabbed him as she slammed her glowing fists into the Turian.

A gasp escaped Kuril, the Warden desperately reaching up to grab at the woman's hands...only for her to growl and crush the turian's hand causing Kuril to howl in pain. She then grab the Turian by the throat, Kuril gasped for air trying to struggle, but it was all in vain, Jack was stronger than he thought. Jack glowed a brilliant blue as a biotic field enveloped both of them…and then the team heard a crack, it was the turian's plates starting crack from the pressure.

Garrus flinched when seeing it, Shepherd understood; it was never easy to see your own people being killed in such a way even if he was a crook. Jack continued her execution, as her biotic field corroded the turian's body so much that her hands were being drenched in blue blood. She reminded Shepherd of a Krogan under blood rage, as she gave a great roar and the glow became bright making the team cover their eyes. When they could see again, Kuril was on the ground as nothing more bloodied husk, the team barely recognized him. They looked at Jack, she was out of breath, that display of power while impressive took a lot out of her, but that didn't stop her from glaring at Kuril's corpse with intense hatred. She then eyed Shepherd and team. "What the hell do you want?" she growled.

"My name is Shepherd" He said. "I came to get you out"

Jack glared at him. "Fuck you! You don't fool me I saw that ship on the way here, you're with Cerberus" She said glowing blue. "You ain't getting me, you prick!"

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "If I really was with Cerberus, you'd be dead, not being asked to join my team" he said annoyed.

A snort escaped the woman. "You think I'll go with you?" Jack said. ""Fuck you"

"How eloquent of you" Shepherd said sarcastically. "Look, I won't force you to come, but if you ask me staying here seems a bit...stupid"

"Who are you calling stupid, you shithead?!" Jack snarled, hands curling into new fists as the biotic energy around her once more surged into life, making Garrus and Kasumi tense up, weapons ready.

"You" He said unfazed. "The ship is coming apart and you're arguing with the only person willing to take you along, so yeah stupid"

"Cuz…" Kasumi said nervously. "Maybe pissing her off further isn't such a good idea..."

"I take you along, and you decide rather leave or stay, No strings attached." Shepherd said.

"There's always strings attached." Jack snarled "I don't trust you."

"Please, you don't trust anyone." Shepherd said a little pleased by the surprised look he received from his observation. "Now...I don't have all day, and by the sound of things, neither does this station...your call."

"Not good enough! You're Cerberus! You want my help? I want to know what Cerberus' got on me!" She said.

"Deal!" Shepherd simply said.

Jack blinked, the anger replaced by confusion. "What?"

"I'll give you full access. I need someone to look over the files anyways. Shepherd said smirking. "Welcome to the Normandy team, Jackie"

"Fu..Fuck you..." Jack grumbled as walked with Shepherd and the team to the Normandy. It was time for Jack to meet the crew. Of course, Miranda wasn't happy with the outcome, first she was ranting on how Kuril and his blue suns betrayed them and then she complained about Shepherd giving a woman with complete and utter hatred for Cerberus full access to their files.

"You what!" Miranda said outraged.

"I promised full access on the Cerberus files." Shepherd said with a shrug.

"You can't do that, it's against protocol" Miranda said.

"Since when have I ever cared about Cerberus protocol?" Shepherd asked. Jack laughed. Miranda glared at her.

"What you looking at, bitch?" Jack asked. "You think you can intimidate me?"

"On this ship you follow a military procedure, which involves obeying superior officers." Miranda said. "You are still staying on our ship, after all"

"Tell the cheerleader to back off before I make her, I'm here, because of our deal" Jack said.

"Miranda will let you into the system. Let me know what you find" Shepherd said.

Jack smirked. "Hear that, precious? We're going to be friends. You, me, and every embarrassing little secret." She said. Jack then looked at Shepherd. "I'll be reading in the hold, keep your people off me, better that way." She left.

"Well, she's going to be fun to work with" Shepherd said with a smirk. "By the way, if you two are going to have a catfight, we should sell tickets"

Miranda crossed her arms. "Oh shut up" she said as she left for her room.

_Recruited prisoner known as "Jack" for the team. Purgatory's betrayal of Shepherd unacceptable. Fortunately, was able to reverse credit transfer. May have to take steps against Blue Suns to demonstrate consequences of interference.-Mission Summary_


	15. Chapter 12: Beauty and the Bitch

**Chapter 12: Beauty and the Bitch**

Jack walked out of the conference room, when she got out, the room, got silent with the Normandy crew staring at her. She still couldn't believe she was agreed to work with the same organization that made her life a living hell. She gave a murderous glare at the crew and they quickly went back to what they were doing, trying their best not to make eye contact with the woman. They were afraid of her, good that's what Jack wanted; all her life she lived afraid she was just throwing back was life threw at her. Jack walked to elevator satisfied, until she ran into something, data pads and books went flying everywhere, some even fell on her head.

She looked on the floor, and saw a young woman with red hair on the floor rubbing her behind. She was about the same age as her; she had a petite build not all that different from hers. The woman looked at her, she didn't look dangerous, more like the girl next door, not that it mattered with Cerberus members. "Why don't you watch where the fuck you going?!" Jack growled. She expected the woman to look scared, but instead she smiled and got up.

"Hello, you must be Jack" She took her hand and shook it much to Jack's and everyone else's surprise. "My name is Kelly Chambers, nice to meet you" she said with a smile. Jack blushed a little; she wasn't used to such a greeting and a warm one at that. Her smile was warm also, not cruel, or lustful like she was used to. "Sorry I ran into you, I can be a ditz at times"

Jack pulled away her hand. "Y…yeah…well don't let it happen again" She walked away, to the elevator, still blushing. She shook her head, Kelly took her off her guard with the nice routine, she wouldn't let it happen again. The elevator stopped on engineer deck to go her new room, the hold of the ship. It was full of boxes, probably full of replacement parts for the ship, to her left a counter, or shelf, large enough for her to lay on and strong enough to support her weight. Cold, dark, and out-of-the-way, just how she liked it, she felt her eyes getting heavy and went to sleep.

_Hell that was all she could remember…she never had a good childhood; in fact her days were filled with pain, people looking at her with hatred. Everyday life felt like a struggle, and every day she felt like ending it, it would be so easy too. Just tie the sheets around her neck and just hang herself, just spite them by taking away their favorite lab rat. She moved the desk she had often used to cower from them, it would be easy to move with her biotics, she then took the sheets and tied it tightly around her neck and looped it around a rail in her room, this would be it, in few moments she would be free. As she was about to make the ultimate decision, the door to her room suddenly opened and several armed men came in and rushed her. Pinned her against the wall, some went further than that, kicked her in the stomach, slapped her, punched her, calling her a stupid worthless cunt for trying escape her hell. Then a voice, as a man in white coat ordered them to stop. One of her tormentors, who caused her such pain in the name of 'science' and the 'betterment of humanity' fuck them, fuck them all…. He speaks._

"_I'm afraid we can't allow you to harm yourself, Zero" the doctor said. "You're much too important to humanities future" He looked at one of the guards, maybe the leader, she couldn't tell from her vision blurring from the pain. "Prep her for the next procedure…" When she heard about more tests, the girl struggled desperately; she hated the tests, the pain, being hollow. The guards saw her struggle, trying to use her biotics to escape, one of them kicked her in the face, and everything went black._

_When finally came to…she was once again hooked up to the machines, bound to the table like the lab rat she was, pleading not to hurt her, for mercy, but behind those soulless goggles there were none, just the sadistic pleasure of seeing their results. The tests began….all she felt was pain as the electricity ran through her body. She screamed in agony, calling for the mother she never knew with tears in her eyes, and then it stopped. But she knew it wasn't the end…._

"_Please, no more…please…I'll be good…no more pain…please…" She chanted like mantra. "Please, no more…please…I'll be good…no more…please…"_

"_No results…doctor…" one of them said._

"_Up her dosage, and then we'll start again…" the doctor said. "The Illusive man wants results, and you don't want to disappoint him" _

_After the agonizing tests, she was dropped back into her room, staring at nothing….tears welled up as she curled up and cried. Such was the life as a Zero…._

Jack instantly shot up on her 'bed' looking around, checking her body for her shackles and wires. She breathed a sigh of relief, she hadn't thought about those days in forever, before she was free, when she was weak. But then again, if you're still thinking about the bad days, you're never really free. She then heard footsteps from the stairs, she looked to the left and saw Kelly coming down with that sickenly sweet smile, on her face, like everything was full of sugar and rainbows. She shook her head, she didn't understand how someone could be so damn cheerful, then again happiness was practically alien to her.

"Hi, Jack" she said. Kelly looked around her room. "You're staying in the storage area, don't you want better quarters?"

"It's dark, quiet and out-of-the-way, just the way I like it" She said. "So what fuck are you doing here?" Kelly got out a black vest and showed it to her. "What the fuck is this?"

"It's something the Commander wanted you to have, something to cover up with" Kelly said.

Jack scoffed. "I don't need this shit…"

"He said it wasn't for the ship, he said he could care less about what you wear around the Normandy" Kelly explained. "It's for missions, it operates like armor"

"So our fearless leader couldn't bother with his presence and sent his assistant" Jack said with a scoff. "Nice way to say fuck you"

Kelly shook her head. "No, Shepherd planned on giving it himself, but he had to make preparations for another mission" she said. "And he didn't send me, I volunteered" Jack looked at her with surprise, most of the crew looked at her with fear, for someone to volunteer to see her was…different. You don't just volunteer to come see people, like her without a pistol in hand. Then she narrowed her eyes at Kelly.

"What's the catch?" Jack asked.

Kelly tilted her head. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Jack frowned and got in her face. "Don't play fucking dumb!" she growled. "I know how you Cerberus types work, everything has a catch! So what is it? Shepherd needed to someone to keep an eye on me so he can report to your boss, the Illusive Man!"

"Um, I…" Kelly said. A voice spoke up.

"She did it, because she and Shepherd are actually naïve enough to believe you're worth compassion" Jack glanced over to the stairs and saw Miranda with arms crossed. "Even though you deserve none…back off Jack"

Jack glared at Miranda and glowed blue. "Or what bitch?!"

Miranda glowed blue herself. "Or else I make you…" Jack was a little impressed, most people would not be stupid enough to pick a fight with her, but she could see that the woman before her wasn't most people. Miranda's eyes showed no hesitation, no fear, like Shepherd she would kill and be killed if she had to, if it wasn't for the fact that she was Cerberus she would have respected her. Jack scoffed and back off, she didn't need the extra trouble. "Kelly, don't you have work to do?"

"Um, okay" she said. She quickly placed Jack's vest on her bed and went back to her post, leaving Miranda and Jack alone glaring each other. Miranda then walked back up stairs and looked back.

"You're a lucky woman Jack; I don't take the threatening of my crewmates well…" She said coldly. "You better be on your best behavior, lest find yourself put down like the dog you are"

"That a threat, bitch?!"

Miranda laughed coldly. "I don't make threats, Jack, you'll know that soon enough" She walked back up the stairs and Jack scoffed walked back to her bed, where she saw the black vest on the bed and threw it on the ground.


	16. Chapter 13: Ambush

**Chapter 13: Ambush**

_**Kal'Reegar**_

"Keelah, this is boring…" Private Ezen'Anin vas Koren complained. Reegar looked at young soldier and shook his head. Rael's team was on the lookout for any geth patrols they may encounter on the planet. So far it has been quiet, but Reegar knew that could all change in a moment. "Wish we can see some action"

"No you don't trust me" Reegar said. "I like the fact that this is a quiet mission for once, and you will too when you see some action"

"Maybe" he said. "Still it's not all bad, getting to work with a Reegar and the hero Tali'Zorah is a once in a lifetime chance" Reegar chuckled as he saw Ezen's starry-eyed expression, he never considered himself that special, he was just soldier doing his duty to his people. That was more than he could say for his younger brother Prazza, who eat the fame up. And he knew that Tali felt the same way about her fame as himself. "I wonder if she's single…."Reegar shook his head., just then another one his men ran to them, she had a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong soldier?" Reegar asked.

"Scanners picked up something, something big" she said breathlessly. "And it's coming our way"

Reegar frowned. "Ezen, looks like you'll get your chance to see some action" Ezen got his gun ready for a fight. He faced the woman. "Haza, meet up the Tali's security group, she's our number one priority, get her to safety!"

"Sir"

_**Tali**_

"Son of a fucking bosh'tet!" Tali yelled in frustration. Her teammates looked at her as she cursed loudly at the broken machine. It had been a couple of days since they landed on the landed on the small mining colony of Haestrom, and so far things haven't gone right. Their machines kept on getting overloaded due to the high radiation output from the sun, making testing an exercise in patience, which Tali was losing rapidly.

"Another burn out?" Ala'Rayner vas Isti said. Ala was Tali's second in command for her research team, a real laid back man. Though it could have been because he was the oldest member of her team, being he was close to being in his forties. He had been a big help in keeping this light-hearted and morale high.

Tali sighed. "Yeah…if it's not one thing, it's another" she said. "How are you coming along on the samples?"

"Slow, but making progress" he said. "Frustrating but I don't mind, not when you have view like that" Tali look out in the horizon and instantly calm down, despite the problems it was somewhat worth seeing a view like that. She was on a planet her ancestors walked on without suits, with their faces and hair free to feel the air. She was amazed the building still stood even after three hundred years of no maintenance, a marvel of quarian engineering. She smiled; it gave her hope that maybe her people exile could one day end, and maybe within her lifetime so she could share it with Shepherd.

"Beautiful…" she said in awe.

A voice scoffed. "Enjoy it while you can, we'll never see it again" Tali and Ala looked back at the cynical young quarian. Jai'Vael vas Ikotomi, the so-called realist of the group, since the beginning of the mission, he's never been real liked by the team due his negative personality. Then again he was a member of the Ikotomi, a crew quite notorious for being professional pessimists.

Ala crossed his arms. "Don't say things like that Jai, you never know…things could change…"

Jai scoffed. "We've said and hoped that for three-hundred years, and nothing has happened" he said. "Face it, this is the closest we'll ever get to the homeworld, and that's if the geth don't kill us first…" Tali lowered her head sadly, unfortunately a good part of the population of the fleet believes that the homeworld was a lost cause, there were some who even believed that their people should just give up on the homeworld and just colonize a planet where the Council has no say.

Tali frowned. "Then what do you suggest we do, Jai? Cause we can't be nomads forever"

"We should look for worlds of our own, nothing's changed in three hundred years, we fight the geth and we lose ships or people" he said. "Better to start fresh"

"You sound like a suit wetter!" Tali said angrily.

"Call me what you want, I just sick of all the death, because we're following a lost cause" Jai went back to work, Tali was taken aback, was the homeworld a lost cause? Her father promised her a house on the homeworld when she was a child, and since then became distant even more so when her mother died. Everything revolved around getting back their home, and all they had to show for it was people dying, maybe the opposition was right. She then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't mind him, he's just weary, we all are…" Ala said.

"Sure…" As they were getting back to work, a woman ran towards them, Tali recognized her she was a member of Kal'Reegar's security squad. She looked alarmed as she met up with their group. "Haza, what's the matter?"

She took a minute to catch her breath. "Geth…large squad coming our way, Kai'Reegar ordered me to get you and your team to safety" They then heard a beeping sound, the unmistakable sound of a Geth patrol. "Keelah, they're already here!" Haza got out her rifle, but before she could get out a shot, a geth fired aiming for Tali. "Watch out!" She jumped in front of Tali and was hit a few times in the chest, then dropped to the ground.

"Haza!" No response, she was dead, the geth fired on the group. "Get back! Run!" She saw her research team make a run for the facility deeper in the colony. It had little to no shade, she had hoped the sun would short them out like their equipment, unfortunately no such thing happen, as the geth weren't slowed down. The team that guarding her, took their positions and fired on the geth. A few geth were taken down, but more just took their place, as the geth were taking down the security guards one by one. She looked back at the carnage, before her and couldn't take it anymore and ran to help the last couple of guards left.

"Miss Tali, what are you doing here? You should run!" One of them said.

"No one gets left" Tali said.

"But…"

"No buts, private" Tali said. She sent out her drone, Chatika vas Paus, to attack the geth. Chatika when to the geth, shocking the geth that came near the group, and for added bonus the geth were distracted while the security team dragged their injured away from the battlefield. To extend that time, she also hacked the geth, the trooper fired in tandem with Chatika, creating chaos for the geth. When they safely got away, Chatika exploded, wiping out a good fraction of the geth. It would not put a dent in their numbers, but it allowed Tali's team to get a head start to safety.

_**Kal'Reegar**_

"Hold the line, these bastards are not getting through!" Reegar said. The battle was quickly becoming lost, not only the geth numbers were superior, but they were also getting out gunned. A scream to the left and a geth destroyer came over and burned three of his men alive with a flamethrower. Reegar hacked the destroyer to attack its allies, giving them breathing room.

"Sir, we got a message from Tali's group, they've sealed Tali'Zorah in a bunker at the far side of the colony"

Reegar sighed a breath of relief. All was not lost, if Tali were still alive. "Best news, I heard all day…"

"Wait…crap! The geth sent in a Colossus, its slaughtering Tali's side, they need back up!"

"Ezen, you're in charge, I'm taking a small team to back up Zorah's group!" Reegar said. "Give us cover!" Ezen nodded, and ordered his men to send out turrets and combat drones to cover Reegar. When it was all cleared, he gave the signal for his leader to run.

"Keelah Sa'lai…" Reegar and his team moved through the ruins, careful not to get into the sunlight. As they were getting closer to Tali's team, a couple of shots ran through several of his men, in their way were six geth primes, reinforced by two dozen repair and strike drones.

"Bosh'tet…" Reegar growled as he headed into battle.

_**Tali**_

The screams were unbearable, but the quarian couldn't do anything to help. She hadn't felt this helpless, since Shepherd died two years ago. But she had focus on the mission, the mission came first above all. For the good of all. Another impact rocked the compound as she worked to gather the data. As she worked, she muttered a little prayer…

"Ancestors, embrace those who have died in service of our people" she said. "And should the worse happen to me, please watch over Wayne and ask him to forgive me…"

_**Review and Comment**_


	17. Chapter 14a: The Worlord pt1

**Chapter 14a: The Warlord pt.1**

After finishing his rounds for today, Shepherd decided to check on Lia, one to make she was doing okay, after all, between the crazy biotic criminal, the bloodthirsty bounty hunter, and Donnelly's bad perverse jokes, the kid was likely in a perpetual state of shock and two he needed to ask a favor from her. He went down in engineering, and saw the young quarian working closely with Gabby and Donnelly on the in's and out of the Normandy's system.

"Oh, hi there Onii-Chan" Lia greeted. Gabby and Donnelly looked behind him and gave the spectre a sharp salute. Shepherd chuckled.

"At ease you two, I'm just here to check up on Lia" he said. "So how's everything down here?" Shepherd asked. Donnelly went on to explain that Lia's a fast learner, she took to the ship's systems fast and with energy that rivaled their own. Shepherd smiled at this, Kasumi was worried that she was have trouble fitting in, looks like the thief and himself was worried about nothing.

"Is Donnelly or Zaeed giving you any trouble?"

"Aye Commander, why do you think I'm always causing trouble?" Donnelly complained.

"Cause you make an art form out of it, Kenneth" Gabby joked. Donnelly rolled his eyes, and went back to work.

"No, quite the opposite, Zaeed-san has shared stories of when he was younger, they're quite entertaining." The Quarian said. "Donnelly-san has been a great teacher, although I don't really get his sense of humor"

Shepherd smirked. "I doubt anyone gets Donnelly's sense of humor" he said.

"Hey, I make damn good jokes" Donnelly said. "Not my fault, people don't recognize comedy genius when they see it"

"Then why are you the only one that laughs at your jokes?" Gabby asked dryly.

"Goes over their heads me thinks"

Shepherd shook his head "What about Jack?"

"Jack-chan is quite interesting to talk to, I don't see how people are so afraid of her" she said. _'Leave it to a kid to see the good in everyone' _Shepherd thought.

"So, Lia, tell me how good are with decontamination units?" Shepherd asked.

"My family programmed lots of them back at the commune" Lia said. "I learned a lot from them, why?"

"I need a unit installed in my room" Shepherd said. Lia tilted her head. "It's for my girlfriend, she's a Quarian too."

Lia's eyes lit up. "Is she from the Migrant Fleet?" she asked. Shepherd nodded. "She can teach me about Quarian culture, okay I'll do it"

"Thanks, kid" Shepherd said. His omni-tool rang.

"What?" he asked.

"Illusive Man gave us another dossier, we're to pick a Krogan scientist" Miranda said.

"Got it" Shepherd said. He looked at Lia "Duty calls" He left engineering and went down the hold. There was Jack sitting in her usual place, her bed, Shepherd had a kept offering her better quarters, but she refused every time. He had heard about Miranda and Jack almost coming to blows a few days ago, and it was decided that the convict would keep her distance, at least until everyone was comfortable with each other. Jack looked at him, and scoffed.

"The fuck you want?" Jack asked.

"Nice to see you to" Shepherd said sarcastically. "Suit up, you and Mordin coming with me"

"Whatever"

_Known as the starcraft cemetery, Korlus was the regional toxic junk yard for centuries. Ships reaching astronautical "near-death" at connecting mass relays were sent to Korlus, stripped of every useful component, and then dumped planetward to clear shipping lanes._

_Currently Korlus hosts numerous merc factions such as the Blue Suns, rumored to be using downed ship fossils to test advanced munitions. Massive gun batteries threaten anyone attempting planetfall, with minimal defenses against ground attack._

_Because ancient volcanism greenhoused the planet, Korlus was too hot and CO2-rich to develop a biosphere, despite the abundant lakes that could have sponsored the development of life._

_Now cool enough for protected habitation, but too scorching for anyone but extremophiles and mercenaries seeking secrecy, Korlus supports numerous krogan outposts. The krogan have therefore seeded Korlus with hardy varren, often kept as war hounds. Varren live primarily on a diet of geophagous vermin and each other.-Codex_

The Kodiak flew through an arch of ship debris as it land on the ground. The side hatch opened releasing Shepherd, Jack and Mordin. The planet lots of old ships, some that were thousands of years old, and it was hot, if wasn't for his armors environmental controls he would have burned up. They rushed to cover as they heard lots of shooting, not at them, but at a distance, it was a warzone and they haven't even fired the first bullet.

"The dossier doesn't say if Okeer is here by choice. Assume hostiles." Shepherd said. The team moved forward. The look, feel and taste of the area were dirty. Shepherd found himself to be spitting every other minute from the grim in the air, making him wished he had helmet that covered his face. A voice was yelling orders over a speaker system; it was female and sounded very unhinged.

"There is only one measure of success kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal"

"This bitch likes the sound of her own voice." Jack said annoyed. "Can't wait to shut her up…."

"Stay focus" Shepherd ordered. "We're here for a Krogan warlord."

They moved forward past debris. As they reached a corner, Shepherd went into cover and saw several Blue Suns mercenaries. Shepherd signaled to Mordin and Jack to flank the mercs he then signaled to attack. Jack pummeled them with her shockwave while Mordin fired a cryo blast at the mercs in the air. He fired one round from his phalanx pistol at the frozen mercs. They shattered into dozens of pieces. The battle was over quickly, which was strange, Shepherd expected more mercs to come, but they never came.

Jack came over the shattered remains of the merc, Mordin just killed. "Being frozen solid then shattered." Jack said. "Brutal…almost cruel"

Shepherd raised a brow. "This coming from someone who ruptured a turian using her biotics"

Jack shrugged. "I said almost" she said.

"Freezing is near instantaneous. Enemy is immediately killed from the shatter. No pain" Mordin sniffed. "More merciful" They went through the guard post and saw a merc lying on the ground.

"Shit, shit" he muttered. "I knew it wasn't berserkers. Not at range." He was slightly bleeding, one of the lucky ones that got away from the team's assault. The man complained about his injury, even though it was for the most part survivable.

"What a pussy…" Jack said in disdain.

"You're mercenaries or the Alliance. I-I'm not saying anything." The merc said.

Shepherd activated his omni-tool. "I have a nice application of medi-gel ready to go. But... If you don't want to talk..."

"Damn it," he cursed. "Alright Jedore has had Okeer breeding her army of Krogan. But it's all messed up. The Krogan he creates are insane. We just use them for target practice."

"Guard Post, report in," his radio barked. "Jedore wants a status report on that Krogan horde."

The merc glanced at his radio and then back to Shepherd wondering what to do. The Spectre grabbed him by the collar of his armor and pulled him close. His eyes narrowed, which made the merc shrink under his gaze. "I want you friends gone, and I would do it quick if I were you…"

"Uh, patrol? Last group dispersed….Lost sight five minutes ago…" He said nervously.

"Dispersed?" the man on the radio exclaimed. "Jedore is not going to be pleased."

"You asked for a report!" the merc chided. "Dispersed."

"Alright, alright. Units returning to base."

The merc looked back to Shepherd. "Done, now for that medi-gel"

"Nah I think not, you just find yourself a nice shady spot you can sit in while you bleed out." Shepherd said with a smirk.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," the merc mumbled as he stumbled away.

"Adding insult to injury, literally," Mordin said. "Necessary?"

"Maybe not," Shepherd shrugged. "Felt good though." They went on their way. Penetrating the outer defenses of the Blue Suns' base was easy due to the crazed krogan running around, but they still had to watch their backs. However the inner defenses were another matter, as they were full of feral krogan and narrow bridges making fighting risky. Cover was hard to come by and Krogan had no need for them as they came in with shotgun in tow. Having Mordin on the team was god-send as his incineration blast made the krogan panic, turns out as crazed as they were they could still feel pain. When they were weakened enough, Jack would blow them away with a shockwave, though the spectre could tell the woman wanted to do more.

"Hell yes!" Jack said with a feral grin. Once they made it out of the corridors with the krogan, they met with a battalion of blue suns. They were relentless, as they had heavies on every corner, reinforced by engineers and the shotgun wielding centurions no doubt to deal with the krogan. However, that didn't stop the team, especially Jack who was wiping out the mercs like they were nothing. She blasted the blue sun causing them fly everywhere, off the ledges, slammed against the wall, and/or impaled by the beams sticking out.

The room ahead was indeed a lab...humming generators covered in rust lined the wall to the left, several computers that were obviously new, judging by their lack of wear, next to them. A few tables were strewn around the room, gutted corpses of Krogan lying atop them, obviously victims of experimentation. And at the far end...Shepherd's eyes widened. It was a large tank containing a huge krogan, in fact it was one of the largest Krogan he had ever seen, obviously in suspended animation in the liquid within the tank. Next to it was a brown krogan tending to a terminal.

"Okeer?" Shepherd said.

"It's about time, human, the batteries will not hold while you play with those idiotic mercs" the krogan said,

"So you weren't caged" Shepherd said. "But you could be more grateful"

Okeer snorted. "You may claim to help, but fact you're even here is not a sign of gentle change."

Shepherd's eyes grew wide. "How did…?"

"All krogan should know you, or have you forgotten what you did on Virmire?" he said. Shepherd glared at him. "But I do approve, Saren's horde were not true Krogan, and numbers mean nothing, an outsider's, the same mistake these mercs have also made"

Okeer walked to the window. "I gave her my rejects, but she grows impatient, it's time to take me out of here."

Jack scoffed. "We're here of the collectors, not your problems"

"I see. So, collector attacks have increased. A human concern. "My requests were focused elsewhere" he said. "I acquired the knowledge to create the one perfect Soldier, with that I will inflict the greatest insult to an enemy: to be ignored.

"Your search for the perfect soldiers created a lot of failures, you don't care about them?" Shepherd said.

"I failed no one, my reject are exactly what she asked for, and she is just too weak to command. They are strong, healthy, and useless to me" Okeer said. I need perfection, if few thousand are rejected so be it. My work will purify the krogan. We will not be restored…we will be renewed."

"I thought the krogan wanted numbers that threaten the galaxy." Shepherd said.

"We will not need numbers. My soldier is a template. It is a greater threat than all the phantom siblings that would have been at his flank."

Shepherd glared at him. "You're just a cruel and manipulative bastard, just like the ones who released genophage first"

"Perhaps, but I will restore the krogan and my soldier will be the response, not 'cure or 'horde'" Okeer said. "My legacy is perfection, they will exceed by standing on our dead. They won't forget."

"Funny, I doubt the others will see it that way" Shepherd said.

"I don't need their approval" He said. "They're time is coming to the end, anyway"

"I can't believe this…" Shepherd said. "You're noting but a crazy zealot, but you know how to take down a threat"

"Perhaps we can strike a deal to secure passage" Okeer said. "But, know this human, my soldier is not negotiable. It is the key to my legacy."

The com opened up. "Attention, I've traced the krogan's release. Okeer, of course" It was Jedore. I'm calling black slate on this project. Flush the tanks"

The pipes began to blow and air began to leak out. "She's that weak-willed? She'll kill my legacy with a damned valve!" Okeer said. "You want information on the Collectors? Stop her, and then we'll talk"

"I've seen how you operate, you could start over like her" Shepherd said.

"No! Starting over will not duplicate it, it must survive" he said.

Shepherd smirked. "And now the balls in my court"

"Jedore will be with the rejects, go and stop her; I will do what needs to be done"

Shepherd nodded. "Let's go" he ordered.


	18. Chapter 14b: The Warlord pt2

**Chapter 14b: The Warlord Pt. 2**

_Dr. Okeer_

_- Millennia of combat and strategic experience_

_- Rumored familiarity with Collector technology_

_A brilliant and brutal krogan warlord who fought in the Krogan Rebellions, Dr. Okeer has become obsessed with saving the krogan people from the genophage and is believed to have contacted the Collectors in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, though the nature of his relationship with the mercenary group is unknown.-Dossier_

As the team went up the stairs, they could faintly hear a woman's voice ranting, went they opened the door to the next room there was Jedore, behind four birthing chambers. "I don't care who they are, I want them dead! This is my world! I'll poison them all!" The woman went completely insane. Shepherd, Jack and Mordin hid behind some tanks while Jedore, pressed a button releasing the tank-breeds. The krogans were relentless, flanking them while Jedore was bombarding them with missiles. Luckily the krogan, weren't too smart due just being 'born' and they were wiped out quickly. After taking out her krogans, she activated a YMIR mech that then took pot shots at them.

"Focus on the mech!" Shepherd ordered. Shepherd popped out of cover and activated his omni-tool, to overload the mech's shields. "Shit…" The mech's shields were tough and it didn't help that Jedore sometime recharge its shields. Jack and Mordin flanked the mech while it was focusing on Shepherd, hitting the metal behemoth with shockwaves and incineration blasts while Shepherd lay on the pressure with his SMG. However, Jedore was not making it easy as she continued firing on the team with her missiles. Finally getting tired of the woman's meddling, the spectre froze her in a stasis field, letting the team focus on the YMIR.

"Shield's down!" Mordin announced. Jack rushed the mech blasting it with shockwaves stunning the mech. The stasis finally broke and Jedore fell with a thud, she got up and glared at the team while gripping her weapon.

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you all!" Jedore said becoming even more unhinged. As the team was getting ready to shut down the YMIR, she fired her missiles at the team, but with her psychosis she was missing and hitting her army more than hurt the squad. The team went in taking pot shots at the woman, however while they were focusing on Jedore, the mech recover with its sights on the team,

"The mech's back!" Jack said.

"Not for long" Shepherd said. "Jack and Mordin focus on Jedore" They nodded firing on Jedore, but the merc leader refused to back down. Shepherd pulled out his missile launcher. Jedore moved forward firing rockets as she advanced. Shepherd started pelting the mech's head with missiles. Mordin used his SMG to strip away her shields, when they were gone Jack lifted her with her pull, Shepherd used his warp field, causing an explosion. Jedore fell to the ground and quickly got up screaming incoherently.

Shepherd blinked. "Damn, how did she survive that?" he asked. "That's usually enough to take out a krogan"

"She's nuts, crazy people can survive a lot of things" Jack explained.

"So, speaking from experience?" Shepherd asked.

Jack glared at him. "Fuck you!" she said.

Mordin spoke up."Mech coming. Must focus" he said. Shepherd fired three rockets at the mech's head. The third rocket destroyed the head completely. The YMIR fell over and landed on top of Jedore's legs which made her screams echo throughout the area. It beeped widely as it approached its self-destruction.

"Ooh, that can't be good" Shepherd said with a smirk.

Jedore's eyes went wide. "No! No, no, no, no!"

"Take cover!" Shepherd yelled. They took cover behind the sturdy tanks and watched the spectacle as the mech started to glow.

Jedore's eyes went wide. "Nooooooooooo!" The mech erupted in a ball of fire. The explosion rocked the area, wiping some of the tanks out, when the explosion finally ended all that was left was a charred area and the scorched remains of Jedore.

"Nighty-night, you crazy bitch…" His com beeped, it was EDI. "Got you, what is it EDI?" Shepherd asked.

"The lab alarms coincided with system failures. The remain lab systems are unprotected, and I have limited access." She said. "According to lab scanners, the room is flooded with toxins, Okeer's life signs are fading, and I recommend haste."

"What the hell is that Krogan doing?" Shepherd said. "We have to hurry"

They went back up to stairs only to be too late to save Okeer, as the krogan was slumped over the terminal. As they got closer, they found he left a message for Shepherd, the spectre opened it.

"You gave me time Shepherd. If I knew why the collectors wanted humans, I would tell." The recording said. "But everything is in my prototype, my pure legacy, this one soldier, this grunt. Perfect"

"The fuck? All this for just one Krogan?" Jack asked as she looked at the tank that held a young krogan. "Is it that special?"

The salarian shook his head. "Doubt it, one krogan would not have the impact Okeer wanted" Mordin said. "Almost certain."

"Afraid he may make your plague useless?" Shepherd asked dryly. He looked at the tank. "I guess we should bring tiny with us"

"Krogan are unstable and we have no idea how this one will react." Mordin said.

"No, but it might be fun" Shepherd said. "Shepherd to Normandy. Okeer is a no go, but we have a package for pick up. And he's a big one."

_**Normandy**_

Shepherd made his way to the cargo bay. His debriefing with Miranda, and Jacob was interesting to say the least. Jacob didn't really know what to do about the Krogan whereas Miranda suggested leaving him in the tank. Frankly Shepherd needed all the help he can get. This may be a stupid move on his part, but it may just pay off. He entered the room containing the tank.

"Anything you can tell me about him?" Shepherd asked.

"The subject is a perfect example of the Krogan species. Like all Krogan he bares the genophage. If you are asking about his psychological condition then I am unable to tell you. We do not know how he would react to you or anyone else." EDI said.

"Get ready, I'm going to open it." He said.

"Are you sure? We do not know about his mentality." She said slightly worried.

"He's either a powerful addition to the crew or a ticking time bomb. I'd rather get it out of the way now."

"Very well." A holo panel appeared. "The controls and consequences are yours."

Shepherd walked up to the pad and pressed a few buttons. The tank beeped as it started draining its fluids. The tank started elevating to a ninety-degree angle. The Krogan started lowering as the fluid levels decreased. He leaned against the glass. Shepherd took a couple of steps back as the doors hissed and then opened. As they got wide enough, the Krogan fell to his knees and cough up a large amount of the tank's liquid. He stepped out of the tank in a groggy manner. His eyes opened and closed sloppily. Shepherd took a couple of steps forward.

The krogan's eyes suddenly opened widely and he spotted Shepherd. He growled as he charged forward, Shepherd glowed blue to flare up his biotics, but the krogan was too fast and before he knew it he was off of his feet and slammed him against the back wall. Pain shot up and down Shepherd's back as the air escaped his body. The krogan held the spectre to the wall his one arm to his throat; he then moved his face forward and sniffed him.

"Human. Male." The krogan said. "Before you die, I need a name."

"I'm Commander Shepherd of the Normandy," Shepherd answered. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll back off"

"Not your name," the Krogan scolded. "Mine. I know things, but the tank... Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow." The krogan repeated Okeer's words. "Warlord. Legacy. Grunt... Grunt." He repeated that last word with emphasis. "'Grunt' was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do." Grunt refocused on Shepherd. "I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

"You wouldn't like 'Okeer' or 'Legacy'?" Shepherd asked. "You were designed to be the perfect after all"

"Those words are big with no real meaning to me. Maybe they fit your mouth better. Grunt matches the training in my blood. I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. Without a reason to fight that is not my own, any fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you."

"Instead of fighting me, how about you join me?" Shepherd asked.

"Why should I?" Grunt asked.

"I have a strong crew. A strong clan. You would make it stronger." Shepherd said with smirk.

"If you lead a weak clan and fight weak enemies, I'll have to kill you."

"My enemies have caused galaxy-wide extinction every fifty thousand years and are threatening to do it again. How's that for a worthy foes?" he said.

Grunt let out an amused chuckle. "It makes my blood boil for a good fight. I'll fight for you"

"Glad you saw reason, I hate cleaning up my messes" Shepherd said.

"Huh." Grunt looked down and saw the pistol for his stomach. He released Shepherd and laughed again. "Offer one hand but arm the other. Wise, Shepherd. If I find what I want. If I find a clan, I'll be honored to eventually pit them against you."

Later on Shepherd made a beeline for his cabin, he was really tired. He saw Lia at the corner of his room with a large cylinder device. "One more twist and there" she muttered.

"Kid?" he asked.

"Oh, Onii-Chan" She said. "I'm glad you're here, I'm happy to tell you the decontamination unit has been installed."  
"Wow, you work fast, kid" he said. "Thanks"

"Anything for my crew" She said. "Let me know if it needs some tweaks"

"Got ya" Shepherd said as Lia left. He walked to his desk and picked up the picture of him and Tali and smiled as he sat on his bed.

"Night, rookie" he said as he turned off the lights.

_**Horizon**_

Meanwhile, on the distant plant of Horizon, something was stirring and an old friend was caught in the middle. "Lilith!" Kaiden called out as he caught up with her.

"Still having trouble getting the defense towers up?" She asked.

"Those towers are useless without their targeting matrix working."

"Sorry, Commander. The comm. towers are our main priority."

"Yeah... I'm surprised the colonists haven't tried blaming that on me," he said bitterly.

"It's not personal. People out here just don't like the Alliance." The area then darken, which was strange as the reports didn't say anything about clouds today. They then heard a loud hum came from the sky. Lilith and Kaiden looked up and saw a large brown cruiser fly over the colony. The colonists around the two gathered around and watched the ship. A large dark cloud came from the ship and went towards their location.

Kaiden looked through his assault rifle's scope to get a better view. The cloud was a swarm of insects. "Lilith, get everyone to the shelter immediately! I'll hold it off."

The swarm approached them. The colonists tried to make a run for it, but the swarm attacked them, stinging them, paralyzing them. Kaiden fired at the swarm, but there were too many of them and they were too fast. One of the insects bit Kaiden on the neck; he yanked it off of himself and stared at the insect briefly before whipping it to the ground. He took a step forward before his body froze in place. Kaiden tried to move, but it was no use, all he could do was watch the colonists, he was sworn to protect, drop one by one. Kaiden looked up and saw a bug-like humanoid walk up and start to glow.

"WE ARE THE HARBINGER OF THEIR PERFECTION" it said. "PREPARE THESE HUMANS FOR ASCENSION" The next thing Kaiden felt was himself being dragged to god knows where…

_Cloning facility destroyed. Okeer dead, but his "son" was recovered. Loss of Okeer could be a problem. Will allow Shepherd to decide whether to activate the krogan.-Mission Summary _


	19. Chapter 15a: Horizon pt1

**Chapter 15a: Horizon pt. 1**

The com opened up. "The Illusive Man would to see you, Shepherd" Kelly said. "I repeat, the Illusive Man would like to see you"

Shepherd groaned and stirred in the bed. "Got it Kelly" Shepherd rolled himself out bed and put on some clothes. He headed downstairs in the conference room, as he yawned and stretched, the conference table went down and the room went dark as the holographic image of TIM appeared before him smoking his cigarette.

"Shepherd" TIM said.

The spectre crossed his arms as he yawned again "This better be good, I was in the middle of some good sleep" Shepherd said annoyed. The Illusive Man pressed a few buttons and an image of a green verdant world appeared.

"Shepherd, we have them, Horizon, one of our colonies in the Terminus, has just gone dark" he said. "If isn't under attacked, it soon will"

"Mordin finished the countermeasure a few days ago, though he's still testing it" Shepherd said.

"I would say the test phase is officially done" TIM said.

"We'll be there soon" Shepherd turned to walk away.

"Wait, there is something else you should know" TIM said. "Kaiden Alenko, you former crewmember is down there also" Shepherd looked back at him.

"What is he doing in the Terminus Systems, he's Alliance" Shepherd asked.

"Officially, he is part of an outreach program, a show of goodwill between the Alliance and the Human colonies" he said.

"This can't be a coincidence, my crewmate just happens to be there, when they attack" Shepherd said.

"I don't believe in coincidence, they must be using him to get to you"

Shepherd clenched his fist when heard that, Kaiden was in trouble. "Well, they got me" he growled. "No one threatens my friends and lives"

"I know you're angry, but don't let personal feeling get in the way of your mission" TIM said.

"How about you worry about the collectors and I worry about my crew, huh?" Shepherd said as he cut off communication. "Joker, get us to Horizon"

"Aye, aye, ETA in three hours" he said.

_A temperate world that hit the "sweet spot" for carbon-based life, Horizon has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere maintained by abundant indigenous photosynthetic plants and bacteria. While the native plants are very palatable to humans, the soil conditions are such that a handful of introduced Earth species have flourished, and the colonists must take strict care to prevent ecological disasters. Genetically engineered "terminator seeds" that grow nutritious but sterile crops to minimize outbreaks are the rule rather than the exception. Animals on Horizon appear to be exploding in diversity similar to during Earth's Cambrian period. Large flying insect analogs take advantage of the thicker-than-Earth atmosphere and low gravity to grow enormous. Microbial life has proven relatively benign; a series of vaccinations for the most virulent strains of soil-borne diseases is all that is required for a visit.-Codex_

The shuttle landed on a small clearing just outside of the colony, the team came out careful not attract any attention from any Collectors that might be in the area. Once outside, the shuttle door closed and left them, they were on their own now. Shepherd looked around the colony, a few prefabs and farming equipment, the spectre guessed that before the collectors attack Horizon was quiet and peace colony. "This is bad." Garrus said pointing at the sky. Shepherd and Grunt looked up and saw the collector ship; it was huge, especially if it could be seen from this far out of the colony.

"No kidding" Shepherd said. "Mordin, will these counter measures work?"

"Should work... In theory," he replied over the radio.

"In theory?" Garrus said.

"Only true test is a field test. Exhilarating to test it firsthand." He said.

"Glad to be your lab rats" Shepherd said sarcastically. The team reached the first clearing. There were several trucks with assorted cargo. A buzzing noise filled the area and from over the hills to the right several Collectors flew in, each armed with organic assault rifles. The collectors looked a humanoid beetle; each Collector that appeared seemed to be little more than a drone with no distinctions between individuals, although there was that towered their own brethren by a significant margin. Their vocal communication seemed mostly consisted of insectoid chirps and trills. As soon as the Collectors landed they opened fire on the team's position.

"They fly?" Grunt asked. "Now it gets fun"

"Take cover!" Shepherd ordered. Shepherd peaked around his cover and threw a warp at one of the Collectors. It drained its barrier. Grunt fired at an explosive crate, launching them all in the air. Some of the collector raised a golden barrier similar to the geth's hex barrier to protect themselves from the team's fire.

"Mordin, you seeing this?" Shepherd asked adjusting the camera in his helmet.

"Yes, ah interesting, anti-ballistic barriers" he said over the com. "blocks every attack except for heavy force" Shepherd smirked and ordered Garrus and Grunt to hit the barrier with concussive shots. The barrier broke and Shepherd gunned the remaining collectors down, after the battle was done Shepherd went to check the corpse.

"Impressive" Mordin said. "Exoskeleton. Very tough, durable. Same as hardsuit. Maybe better. After we repeal Collectors, should take several bodies back for an autopsy. Could give insight to new armor upgrades."

"Okay, creepy, but useful" Garrus said.

"Come on, we need to keep moving," Shepherd urged. They moved forward running into more Collectors and husks. When they made it to the next clearing was secured Mordin made an observation.

"Hmm. Husk used by Sovereign..." The husk looked different; they were much broader than the husks from two years ago. The cybernetics no longer glowed and the entry port from the dragon teeth was more pronounced which meant they came with the collectors.

"No," Shepherd said. "The geth impaled their husks on dragon teeth. We haven't seen any since we got here. The Collectors must have brought them here." Shepherd crouched down to get a closer look. "These husks are different from what we faced during the mission against Saren. More evolved. While these husks don't have the electro-magnetic pulse of Saren's husk, these husks are more durable and stronger."

"They still die when you shoot them," Grunt commented.

"Damn, then the Illusive Man was right," Garrus said. "Collectors are working for the Reapers."

"Keep moving," Shepherd motioned towards the gate, where they saw a disturbing sight "Oh no…" He saw children, a kindergarten class. Two women, one sporting grey hair and another younger with raven black hair were on either end of the group, both with faces twisted into horrified screams as they tried to shoo their charges forward... Charges that could be no more than four years old, their tiny faces twisted into grins of what would have been crying...if they had ever gotten that far. Their little legs frozen in a stumbling attempt to leave...a fruitless attempt.

"Colonists kept in stasis yet are completely aware." Mordin said.

Shepherd found his hands tightening on his weapon and closed his eyes, the sight of this struck too close to home. What he saw reminded Shepherd of Mindoir, and the screams of terror that filled the air when he was a kid. At least back then, the captured had a chance of fighting back against the batarians, but here…there was no chance, they were completely at the mercy of the Collectors and the scary part, they didn't even know. "Come on, we're not letting the husks take anymore colonists." Shepherd said.

The next area was filled with several pre-fab homes. There were a dozen stasis containers near the wall. The licking and chirping of the Collectors could be heard by Shepherd's team. They moved as one. They opened fire on any Collector and then took cover just long enough to reload. They repeated this process until the area was quiet once again. Around the next pre-fab unit they found more people in stasis. "Don't worry; it'll all be over soon…"

Ahead of them was an organic looking weapon lying against a crate in the back alley of the pre-fab units. Shepherd picked it up and quickly put the trigger at open ground. A yellow particle beam erupted from the end, putting a hole into one of the buildings. Shepherd quickly releases the trigger, his com then roared in his ear causing him to hold his head in pain.

"Incredible!" Mordin gasped in awe. "Miniaturized particle beam! Best scientists in the galaxy still unable to create a large-scale model. Too high power requirement. Need dreadnought standard fusion plant for something of this scale. I must have it!"

Shepherd rubbed his ear. "And you'll have it, just warn me next time when you start geeking out like that"

"Yes, apologies" Mordin said. The team went in the next area, it was an open area full of prefabs, and buildings perfect for an ambush. The tell-tale sound of wings buzzing notified them of the Collectors approach. One of the Collectors started glowing yellow as it landed, its skin cracked and it lifted off the ground by a couple of feet and a small burst of energy came from it. The glowing collector looked at the team

"I AM ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL OF THIS FORM" its voice boomed. The collectors fired on the team and they went to cover, the collector guardian set up it barrier. As it turned out, the collector gun they found earlier was a god-send as it tore through the barrier like it was nothing, and killing several collectors in the process. While the other Collectors were easy to dispatch, especially with the gas tanks lying around, this glowing Collector was absorbing their fire. It advanced and attempt to engage Shepherd at point-blank range. It possessed an extremely powerful and unknown biotic attack that could penetrate cover, making the spectre stagger back. Grunt and Garrus fired at the collector, but it just ignored him and continued to focus on Shepherd.

"This thing is harder to kill than the others!" Garrus said.

"A worthy opponent" Grunt said grinning "I will savor this" Shepherd gathered a warp in his hand and threw it at the oncoming Collector. The force of impact caused it to stumble back a bit, and bit of its armor started to fall off

"Garrus, armor-piercing ammo, Grunt incendiary ammo Now!" The two nodded and switched ammo. As they opened fired, more and more of the collector's armor fell. Shepherd finished it with the coup de grâce a warp field, it dissolved into ash soon afterwards. They then heard another booming voice.

"I AM THE HARBINGER OF YOUR PERFECTION."

"Shit!" Shepherd cursed. "Another one!"

"SHEPHERD..." The way the collector growled his name was nothing less than pure hatred. As he fought them, the memories of his battle with Saren/Sovereign came flooding back…

_**Two years ago**_

_"I AM SOVEREIGN AND THIS STATION IS MINE!" The abomination once known as Saren attacked._

_"Well, shit." Was all Shepherd could say as the team fired at Sovereign, but its rapid jumps made it impossible to get a proper aim at him. Biotics helped a little, but Sovereign's own mass effect field, broke it out. Sovereign latched on to the wall and rapidly fired red bullets everywhere making cover all but useless._

_Shepherd threw a couple of grenades at Sovereign, causing multiple explosions, but it didn't slow down the turian husk as latched to the floor. It moved slowly, never taking its soulless eyes off the team, it moved like a predator stalking its prey. The team moved also never taking their eye off Sovereign. Suddenly, Shepherd and Kaiden blasted Sovereign with warp fields, while Tali were trying to overload its shields. Sovereign jumped, blasting a stream of red energy, separating Shepherd from the rest of the team. With the Spectre alone, the husk pursued him, practically ignoring Tali and Kaiden. Shepherd move get some breathing room, and Tali and Kaiden shot the husk trying to get its attention but Sovereign was relentless in its pursuit blasting Shepherd. A few of the blasts missed as he missed as he bobbed and weaved, however Shepherd got careless and hit wall as Sovereign fired off multiple red energy bullets. Shepherd raised his barrier as several of his red fireballs hit the Spectre. But the force was too much shattering his barrier and some of the bullets hit him square in the chest. Shepherd was thrown back and hit the wall hard. He shouted in agony clutching his chest, it was like he was melting from the inside out._

_"Wayne!" Kaiden and Tali said coming to his side. Sovereign prowled around Shepherd like a predator almost like it was taunting him, the spectre wasn't surprised he was completely at the husk's mercy. Tali and Kaiden fired at it, but at this point they were like mosquito bites as Sovereign just fired a red bullet to keep the human and the quarian from pestering it. Sovereign looked at Shepherd and lunged at him. This was it, he was going to die._

_"WAYNE!" Tali screamed. Then a miracle happened Sovereign dropped to the ground, glowing red, howling in pain. Shepherd was confused at first, but then looked out the window and saw the Normandy and other ships swarming the reaper. Sovereign couldn't protect itself and possess Saren's body at the same time; it was putting a strain on the reaper._

_"It's losing it…now's our chance…kill Sovereign!" he strained. Shepherd shakily raised his hand and caught the husk in a singularity field. He lifted it above the ground and held it there. Immediately, Kaiden and Tali raised their guns and fired until their guns over heated. Feeling its victory slipping away, Sovereign grew desperate and charged energy preparing to fire at Shepherd point-blank, if it was going to die he was going to take the Spectre with it. With Shepherd still in pain, he couldn't move. 'Shit' he thought._

_"Wayne!" Kaiden thought fast and engulfed the husk in a biotic field that started to eat away at the husk. Tali came in close with her shotgun and blasted it until it overheated._

_"Get away from him you bosh'tet!" Tali growled. Sovereign growled angrily and swung at the quarian, hitting her hard in the stomach._

_"Tali! Bastard!" Shepherd growled. Shepherd glowed blue and hit Soverign with the strongest biotic field he could muster, blowing it back on the grass. Sovereign, then started to screech an inhuman screech until was lying on the ground, twitching only slightly. Suddenly, the red energy that so far had been held inside it engulfed it turning into a bright blaze. Finally the screeches stopped as the blaze stopped only leaving ashes behind. _

That memory ran through his head just to make the fact clear. This was a Reaper possession; this was what the reapers were capable of. The power to end civilization on a whim, he was fighting for the future. "PRESERVE SHEPHERD'S BODY IF POSSIBLE."

"Fuck you" Shepherd growled. "Eliminate the drones first!" Clearing the area of the half a dozen drones proved rather difficult with Harbinger's charged warp attacks. His other attack consisted of a slow-moving energy ball that was easy to move out-of-the-way of. After a small amount of time they eliminated the drones and focused back on Harbinger. Harbinger still twitched. Shepherd cautiously walked up to it and looked down, aiming with his pistol.

"YOU WILL FAIL, SHEPHERD" its voice boomed. "KILL THIS ONE AND A HUNDRED WILL REPLACE IT." Shepherd pulled the trigger sending a round through its head.

"Garrus, get that garage door open," Shepherd ordered.

"Got it, boss" he ran over to the holographic display and activated his omni-tool. A few seconds passed when he announced, "And... done!" The door opened up. The team went inside only to hear a click of gun and cold metal was held against Shepherd's head. Without thinking Shepherd grabbed the gun and flipped the unknown assailant to the floor and into the light. Shepherd and Garrus eyes went wide. .

"Kaiden?" Shepherd asked. He blinked and got of the floor.

His eyes went wide. "Wayne? Garrus?" he said.


	20. Chapter 15b: Horizon pt2

**Chapter 15b: Horizon pt. 2**

_Kaiden Alenko  
-Talented with biotics and tech  
-Extensive military training with Alliance_

_Kaiden was born in 2151 into a family already familiar with space: his father served in the Alliance military. After his mother was downwind of a transport crash in Singapore, Kaiden was exposed in utero to element zero and beat the odds, gaining biotic potential instead of terminal brain cancer. At the time little was known about human biotics, but when the possibilities became better understood, a company called Conatix Industries was set up to track accidental eezo exposures. Children who showed enough potential to be worth augmenting with implants were 'encouraged' to attend BAaT (Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training) which was conducted at Gagarin Station and nicknamed 'Brain Camp' by its attendees. Served with Commander Shepherd in the hunt for Saren and joined in the Battle of the Citadel.-Dossier_

Kaiden just stood there for a moment unresponsive, the shock of seeing his best friend alive hadn't worn off yet. Shepherd rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well this is…awkward" Shepherd said. Kaiden came up to him and punched him hard in the face, causing the spectre to fall on his ass. Shepherd rubbed his face. "Ow, what the hell?!"

"'What the hell?!' You're alive, you didn't try to contact me and plus I have to hear from Anderson, that you're with Cerberus, so I should be saying that!" Kaiden said angrily.

"I'm not with Cerberus!" Shepherd interrupted.

"But the reports said…" Kaiden started.

"Reports?" Garrus asked. "What reports?"

"There were rumors that not only you were alive, but with Cerberus, I was sent by Anderson to see if the rumors were true, but then I heard you came to visit him and he confirmed it" Kaiden said. "So, explain, I'm all ears"

"I was gone for two years," Shepherd replied. "I was in a coma while Cerberus rebuilt me, I didn't even have a choice."

"I don't get it, you killed a lot of Cerberus operatives two years ago, why spend all that time rebuilding an enemy?" Kaiden asked.

"Because of the collectors" Garrus said. "They think they're tied to the reapers"

Kaiden's eyes went wide. "Collectors?" Kaiden asked. "You mean those things with the swarm that paralyzed me? They're working for the reapers?"

"We don't know" Garrus said. "That's what we're here to find out"

"You were paralyzed?" Shepherd asked. "Are you okay? How did you get out?"

Kaiden sighed. "It's a long story…" He said.

_**Hours before meeting Shepherd and team**_

_After finally stopping, the creatures threw Kaiden into a pod, the biotic had never been this scared before in his life, not even the final battle with Sovereign scared him this much, at least then he was able to defend himself. As the creatures was about to seal the pod, but a scream was heard, someone must had been freed if they were able to scream. The insect-like creature paused and then walked over to a girl that was cowering in corner; she looked no older than nine or ten. She cried and begged for mercy, but creatures wouldn't listen to her pleas they gathered around her, weapons drawn. Kaiden's blood went cold._

'_No…nononono…NO!' was all he could think as he watched the girl get vaporized. The agonizing death scream of the little girl made him furious. Not just furious, it made his migraine headaches act up. The headache grew stronger and stronger until a biotic pulse came from him. The sides of the pod blew apart and his stasis ended. At Kaiden got out of the pod he saw some of the creatures unfroze some of the colonists and impaled them on Dragon's Teeth. Kaiden glowed blue and launched a throw pulse as hard as he could at the Collector guard. The aliens crashed into the wall with a loud snap. The others took noticed and fired on the biotic, Kaiden raised his barrier and deflected the bullets, and he then raised his arm and blew them away with a biotic wave. His head hurt like hell, but he didn't care, he was pissed beyond reasoning, he gazed at the dragon's teeth going down and destroyed it without a second thought, it was better for these people to die than to live as abominations. Once the migraines settled, Kaiden tried to free the other colonist, but to no avail, he couldn't read heads or tails of the system they were using. With that plan as a bust, he needed to find a way to kick the creatures off the colony._

_"The defense towers!" he gasped._

_That was his thought now. If he could get those defense towers up, he might be able to repeal them. Kaiden picked up one of their strange assault rifles that was next to the now ruined dragon's teeth and made a dash for the control station. He saw some Collectors fly overhead, completely ignoring him. Kaiden wondered what has them so distracted, but welcomed it as his path to the control station was unattended. As he entered, he saw people who had escape the swarm._

"That's the story, I couldn't leave them here so the defense towers had to wait" Kaiden said. "Though more people may have suffer under my decision…"

"You did the right thing" Shepherd said.

"Yeah, but those people..." Kaiden said shaking his head. Garrus spoke up.

"If we reach those defense towers, we could get them activated." Garrus said. "Maybe it can repel the collectors' ship"

"The targeting systems are not working." Kaiden said.

"Looks like it'll be up to EDI" Shepherd said.

"EDI?" Kaiden asked. "Who's that?"

Shepherd rubbed his head. "She's an AI for the new Normandy"

Kaiden's eyes went wide. "The Normandy's back?" He asked. "Wait AI?"

"I'll tell you later" Shepherd said. "Right now we have to kick the collectors off this planet" The team walked away.

"Wait" Kaiden said "I'm coming with you"

"You don't have to" Shepherd said. "What about these people?"

"If they keep the door shut and locked they'll be fine" Kaiden said. "Besides, I want to"

Shepherd smirked. "Ok"

The team exited the garage. The area had some construction equipment. Shepherd activated his comm. "Shepherd to Normandy, do you read?"

"Read you, Commander." Joker said.

"We're heading to the defense towers of the colony. Meet us there."

"See you there." He said. Kaiden looked at him.

"Joker is with Cerberus too?" he asked shocked. Just how many of his old friends joined Cerberus. Shepherd shook his head.

"He did it for my sake" he said sadly.

"I see..." Kaiden said. "Sorry"

Shepherd could hear more of the Collectors clicking. The squad stacked up against the wall. Shepherd peaked around the corner to see two Collectors standing next to each other. Shepherd and Kaiden rolled ran out of cover and threw a ball of warp at the Collector on the left. Grunt and Garrus used their concussive shot on the one on the right. Several more Collectors flew into the area. The moans of half a dozen husks echoed throughout the area, along with the moan of something bigger. A large creature walked out from around the building. It resembled a husk with a large cannon strapped to its back.

"What is that thing?" Kaiden asked out loud.

"Two husks genetically fused to become stronger. Disgusting yet intriguing" Mordin said.

"Who is that?" Kaiden asked.

"Mordin Solus, chief scientist for the Normandy. Pleasure" Mordin greeted. "Shepherd, analyzed several weak points, head, hump, and a blue entry point on their back. Suggest hitting it"

"Unload on it" Shepherd ordered. Kaiden and Shepherd used warp while Grunt and Garrus was on gun support. But it still stood. It turned its attention to them. It fired several shots towards them. The blasts went in a line similar to a biotic shockwave attack. The squad took cover. The creature was harder to kill than the possessed Collectors. It had a thick hide that took continuous bombardment of their firearms, incendiary attacks and warps. Eventually the creature fell to their attacks. The remaining few Collectors posed a lesser threat than their husk artillery cannon.

Kaiden approached the doors in the back of the area and begun hacking. The doors were no match for the biotic's. It opened to reveal a field covered with crates and the control station in the center. They approached, but heard the same groan of the husk artillery. Two of the abominations walked out from behind the control station.

"Grunt, you have the Cain?" Shepherd asked.

Grunt unloaded the yellow cannon and handed it to Shepherd. "Of course" he said with a smirk.

There was enough power for two shots. This was a good time for it. "Everyone take cover!" They didn't need to be told twice. Shepherd pulled down on the trigger and listen to the weapon beep rapidly. It squealed before firing its 25 gram slug. The explosion rocked the ground around them, causing them to fall back. When the dust settled the two scions and the husks that were moving towards them was gone and all that was left was some ruined boxes and a large crater.

"Whoa, Wayne!" Kaiden yelled. "Overkill, don't you think?"

Shepherd smirked. "No kill like it" he said. "Garrus" The turian went straight to work.

"I got through the systems, boss, but the targeting matrix is messed up beyond repair."

"EDI, can you do something about these defense towers?" Shepherd asked over the comm.

"I can sync the colony's targeting system to the Normandy, but it will take time for the towers to warm-up." She said.

"Get to it."

"Starting, but I will not be able to mask the tower's power-up sequence. The Collectors will try to stop you."

"So the Collectors will come in force," Grunt concluded. "Good."

Shepherd sighed. "Any other helpful tips?" he asked.

"Just one," EDI replied. "Enemies incoming."

"Defensive positions, now!" Shepherd ordered. The team went to cover as they heard the buzzing and moans of the Collector and husk hordes. The first one to appear was a bright red husk running at them, Grunt pushed it back with a concussive blast and it when the regular husk ran past it, the red one exploded taking its friends with it. One of the collectors started to glow and started firing it biotic blasts. Kaiden used his reave to drain the possessed husk's barrier while Shepherd blasted its armor with his warp field. Garrus and Grunt gunned down the rest of the collectors and husks, and then silence, no more enemies came at them.

Grunt snorted. "Bah, cowards, I want more fighting" he said.

"I think you might have that wish Grunt look!" Garrus said. The team turned to their right, and saw a husk that looked like flying crab. It flew very slowly until, it started to glow and fired at the team scattering them. The husk then began its pursuit of Shepherd, ignoring the rest of the team, big mistake as it took fire from the others. However it didn't go down easy as it dropped to the ground and wailed blowing back the team and summoning a barrier. Shepherd pulled out the particle beam and drained its barrier while dodging its fire. Garrus, Kaiden, and Grunt took care of its armor, after a while it screeched in pain and then dissolved into nothingness.

After fighting a horde of collectors and husks, the defense towers roared to life and started firing at the Collector ship. The blasts from the defense towers appeared to be doing some damage to the Collector vessel. Some of the plates on the side of the ship shifted and its engine roared to life.

"Shit its engines are starting up" Shepherd said. The collector ship roared and left the planet.

"No…" Kaiden said. "They have half the colony in there."

Shepherd dropped to the ground, punching it. "Shit, shit! I didn't want it to end like this," Shepherd said remorsefully.

"You did the best you could, Wayne" Kaiden said.

"Better than most, boss," Garrus added.

"Not good enough" Shepherd said as he got up.

Kaiden sighed. "Then we have work to do" he said. The team looked at him.

"You mean…?" Garrus asked.

"I'm coming with you" Kaiden said.

"But…" Shepherd said.

"No buts" Kaiden said. "Those things are after humans, which mean the Alliance is in trouble too." He then smiled. "Besides, it might be fun to break the rules, at least once."

Garrus smirked. "Well can't exactly say no to that"

Shepherd put his hand on Kaiden's shoulder. "Good to have you back"

"Glad to be back" Kaiden said.

Back on the Normandy, Shepherd gave Kaiden a tour. Kaiden was impressed at the layout of the ship, though he was a little worried how a terrorist organization was able to recreate something as top-secret as the first Normandy. Not only that, he was worried about the AI in the ship but Shepherd assured him he could trust her. As for the Cerberus personnel walking around the ship, they didn't look like terrorists, but looks could be deceving. "And this is your room." He said.

"I have to say, Cerberus knows their stuff, now if only they could use it for good" Kaiden said. "Now you have to introduce me to that hottie in the Armory"

Shepherd chuckled. "Sorry, don't think Miranda would like you hitting on Jacob, Kaiden"

"Damn, oh well, there a plenty of cute guys on the ship"

Shepherd shook his head. "Now if you excuse me, I want to know about that report"

"Let me come with you" he said. "I need answers too."

The two went to the com room and met with TIM. "Good work on Horizon, Shepherd. Now maybe the collectors will think twice before attacking us"

"It's not a victory, they got away with have the colony" Shepherd said.

"Better than all of it" TIM said. He then noticed Kaiden. "Welcome Lt. Alenko, I have to say I'm a little surprised you decided to join us"

Kaiden crossed his arms. "I'm doing this for Wayne's sake; I still think you're nothing more than terrorist trash"

TIM gave a smug smile. "Of course, I respect that"

Shepherd scoffed. "Just like you respected me?" he asked. "I heard about the tip, was that you?

"I may have let it slip that you were with us" he said.

"Bullshit!" Shepherd growled. "You don't let things slip; you used my name for this! You involved me! You let me share your crime! That is not your call!"

"A calculated risk, I suspected the collectors were after you or anyone connected to you, and now I know."

"Bastard, that choice has gotten half the colony captured" Kaiden said angrily. You call yourself a defender of humanity, of humans, but what the hell are you? This was not human...you do not deserve the title."

"I did what had to" TIM said unfazed. "I won't sit around while the reapers and collectors gather strength."

"You will never do this again, do you understand me?" Shepherd said.

"Of course Shepherd" TIM said. "I have sent three more dossiers to your terminal, one of which is special to you"

Shepherd narrowed his eyes "What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about that Quarian you care about" he said. "We have been monitoring her for weeks; I think she would be a good asset, don't you?"

Shepherd glowed blue. "You've been spying on her?!" he asked angrily.

"Making sure she's safe, after all, she is tied to your will to fight reapers" he said. "Although, while you are giving dirty looks, she's in trouble and she may need your help."

"What do you mean?" Kaiden asked.

"She's now deep in Geth territory. She's there with a team of Quarian marines, gathering data on the planet's local star. Transmissions from the planet suggest that a Geth patrol discovered their position, and are now engaging the Quarians. I'll send you the coordinates to the planet, as well as all the information we have." TIM said.

"Joker, did you get the coordinates?" Shepherd asked out loud.

"Yes commander. I'm plotting a course now." Joker confirmed.

"This isn't done, not by a long shot" Shepherd said coldly.

"Of course" TIM said smugly. "Good luck, Shepherd"

**I changed the story a bit so that Kaiden joins the crew, I always thought that unlike Ash, Kaiden would see reason, and join not because he liked Cerberus, but because logic says this is the right call and because he's loyal due to knowing Shepherd longer than anyone else. What do you think? Review and Comment.**


	21. Chapter 16a: Tali pt1

**Chapter 16a: Tali pt 1**

_Before the geth revolt 300 years ago, the quarians colonized Haestrom to study the mysterious instability of its sun, which threatened premature eruption into a red giant. As a scientific outpost of minimal military value, Haestrom was ill-equipped to repel geth forces during the insurrection and fell quickly under their control._

_Captured geth planetary survey data indicates that despite sustaining damage, Haestrom's architecture remains as it was before the war, preserving a quarian architectural style that no longer exists anywhere else in the galaxy. Because Haestrom's sun has overwhelmed the planet's protective magnetosphere, humans foolhardy enough to venture into geth-controlled Haestrom must exercise extreme caution. Minutes of radiation exposure will overload shields and hours of exposure will kill. Furthermore, solar output renders surface-to-orbit communication nearly impossible.-Dossier_

Shepherd tapped his foot on the floor of the shuttle restlessly, as the shuttle got close to the planet. Although, Kaiden and Garrus told him to get some rest before the mission, he couldn't sleep. All he could think about was the safety of his girlfriend. Shepherd wasn't the only one worried about Tali, Kaiden and Garrus were worried also, but more so of how Shepherd would react if he found Tali dead, they suddered at the thought.

Shepherd frowned. "Can't this shuttle go any faster?" he asked impatiently.

"We'll get there, Wayne" Kaiden said.

"Yeah, she can handle herself and I doubt they'd have sent her without support." Garrus said. "We'll get our girl out of there"

"Yeah…" Shepherd said worried.

_**Hours before touchdown**_

_Shepherd brought the hologram of Haestrom, Shepherd, Garrus, and Kaiden were in the conference room, planning out a way to get Tali out of the clusterfuck the fleet sent the quarian in. The hologram changed to the planet's orbit._ _"There is a Geth cruiser hiding behind one of Haestrom's second moon. I know Geth are synthetics and patient, but even the Geth would have no reason to just have an assault ship sitting behind a moon on the off-chance that someone showed up in a system that hasn't seen sentient organic visitor's since the Geth-Quarian civil war."_

"_Through, very much like Cerberus" Garrus said dryly. "Still, a whole cruiser for a small research team, a bit overkill for the geth, not their style"_

_Shepherd face became grim. "It's a trap…"_

"_How so?" Garrus asked._

"_Think back to Horizon, Garrus, the attack on the colony was anything but random…they wanted Wayne" Kaiden said with a frown. "Tali is just the bait to lure him in reaper hands, just like I was"_

"_Yeah, but unlike Horizon the Quarians won't get the same treatment of that us humans have" Shepherd said grimly. "They'll be killed, no questions asked." _

"_So what's the plan?" Garrus asked. Shepherd pressed a button, and a holograph sprung up over the table, showing a map of a large complex. In the middle was small dot._

_"According to the data, this is the area that the quarian vessel touched down, it is logical to surmise that they are looking for data from somewhere within this complex. Unfortunately the geth have reached the same conclusion. One dropship has already touched down on the surface while another is on its way from the frigate" Shepherd said. "Since the dropship is capable of transporting a standard company's worth of geth soldiers, along with support armatures if properly equipped. We're looking at no more than fifteen to twenty quarians on the planet, and from the data they lost half that" _

"_Damn that many?!" Garrus asked shocked. "The fleet sent them on a suicide mission…"_

"_Which is why we're going to be the wild card in this, cause so much of a ruckus that the geth will focus on us" Kaiden said. _

"_Lightening the Quarian's load, plus we get to wreck some geth" Garrus said with a smirk. "I like this plan already"_

"_Alright, let's do this" Shepherd said. "Be prepared" Garrus and Kaiden nodded._

The shuttle made touchdown on the planet and landed. The team came out of the shuttle, ready for battle. The first thing that hit them, was the heat which was overwhelming even in the shade. As the team moved out, Shepherd couldn't help but notice the buildings, maybe at one point Haestrom was a thriving colony. From the all the equipment that litter the area, it was a former mining colony, but now all that was left were shattered windows or walls full of scorch marks from the burning sun. Shepherd understood why Tali and the other quarians talked so much about the homeworld, stories of their former glories were only thing keeping them going…

As the team moved through the complex, solar radiation weakened the team's shields. "Having problems with my shields" Garrus said.

"Let's move to the shade" Kaiden said. They went inside the building where the saw a destroyed geth and a video log with a Quarian.

"Emergency Log entry: The geth are here. I've stayed to buy the others time" the log said. "If anyone gets this, find Tali'Zorah, she and her data are all that matters, Keelah Sa'lai"

"We have to hurry" Kaiden said. Shepherd and Garrus nodded. The team went to an open area full of containers, equipment, and stone structures when some geth dropped in and opened fired. They quickly went to cover, first up was several troopers, Kaiden and Garrus overloaded their systems while Shepherd smashed them against the wall with a throw field. More came dropping in; Shepherd noticed that the geth wasn't as effect with Haestrom's sunlight as they were. In fact they seemed to be actively trying to force the team into the sun.

"Watch out don't let them flank you!" Shepherd said. As soon as he said that a geth appeared at his side pointing its shotgun at him. "Shit!" Shepherd rolled out-of-the-way, but unfortunately he rolled into the sun, right were the geth wanted him. He heard his omni-tool beeped, and saw that his shields were draining, Shepherd moved quickly to get to the nearest cover. However, the geth had other plans as they were now ignoring Kaiden and Garrus and focusing exclusively on the spectre. A bullet struck him in the arm, his shields drained faster than he thought, more of the geth were about to open fire on Shepherd, until shots rang out, it was Garrus with his sniper rifle. Kaiden froze the hunter and threw it against the prefabs; Garrus overloaded their systems and then took their heads off with a headshot. And soon the battle was done; Shepherd went back to the shade to patch himself up with medi-gel.

"You okay, Wayne?" Kaiden asked.

"Yeah, caught off-guard by that cloaking geth" Shepherd said moving his arm. "Shit, I didn't even know they had cloaking capabilities, won't make that mistake again…." Shepherd got up as soon as his shields recharged to full, and scanned the area, lots and lots with barely any shade to go around. The geth was definitely going to make them work to get to Tali. "Let's go"

They moved forward; advancing quickly from any shade they could fine, one man point and cover, two advances, repeat. The geth did not make it easy as they using every trick in the book to run them out of cover. The toughest of the geth were the destroyers with their flamethrowers, it was even worse if the hunters got involved, making the team to abandon good cover, while the rocket troopers shoot them afar. Eventually they were able to get through the heavy fighting and made it to some ruins with shade.

The ruins were clearly ancient, much of the details etched into the stone having faded with time, but surprisingly most of the heavy hardware was intact. Apparently back when they had planets the quarians built things to last. It was an odd juxtaposition considering the way they survived in present time, constantly salvaging used vessels and patching up damaged ones. In one of the rooms they found the dead quarian, his suit riddled with holes. The damage to the door made it clear that he'd barricaded himself in to attempt to hold back the attackers.

Kaiden shook his head. "A pointless waste of life" he said.

"We can't help him" Shepherd said. "Let's go" a radio near the fallen and a rough voice come from the speaker.

"This is Kal to Afa team, is anybody left over there? Come on, you bosh'tets answer me!"

Picking up the radio, he spoke. "This is Commander Shepherd of the SSV Normandy. I'm afraid your team is down."

"Shepherd? You're Miss Tali's human captain, what are you doing here?" Kal asked.

"Never mind that, Is... is Tali still alive?" Shepherd asked worriedly.

"Yeah. The name is Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines. We're getting tore up here, the last of my squad has sealed Tal'Zorah in a bunker but it's a mess down here, though."

"Where is she?"

"To the north," Reegar replied. He felt relief even as they kept moving. The radio line dissolved into static for a moment before Kal'Reegar came on again. "Whoa. Gotta go!"

"Move out" Now those they had a firm location, the team moved double time. They relied on the element of surprise and superior firepower to quickly overtake the remaining geth in their path. However they didn't go down without a fight, especially in the area full of pillars where they had to face a bunch of geth drones, reinforced by four geth primes. Kaiden and Garrus took them out quickly because their pulse emitters, that could rip through their shields faster than the sun. However more and more came flying in, with the Primes coming in trying to flank them. While Kaiden and Garrus handled the drones, Shepherd focused on the Geth Primes. Shepherd took out his rocket launcher blasting them with rockets, when the drones were all done, Garrus and Kaiden joined Shepherd in the onslaught, taking down the primes.

Within a few minutes they had rounded a corner to find quarian soldier kneeling behind cover, holding his side. Seeing them he quickly motioned for them to get down, the reason quickly apparent as a massive blast of energy tore into the rock face behind him. He drove and rolled, coming up next to the marine. "Commander Shepherd. Are you Kal'Reegar?"

Kal smirked. "Shepherd, huh? Thought you'd be taller" He joked. "Miss Tali is in the bunker behind me, my men made sure to lock down that place good. The geth tried to hack their way in...But let's just say it's hard to hack a door when some Prdel is shooting rockets at you."

"And the colossus?" Garrus asked, not even bothering to peek out from behind cover.

"That would be the big problem of the day. I can't get a clear shot at the thing where it's at, best I can do is rattle its optics before it huddles down to repair and recharge," Kal'Reegar said, patting the launcher sitting next to him. Kaiden spoke up.

"You're hit, marine." Kaiden said. Shepherd saw his other hand still at his side and it was stained.

"Yea, one of the bastards punctured my suit when I tried to get closer for a better shot, but don't you worry about me. I'm swimming in antibiotics and enough painkillers to make an elcor woozy. Every marine on this mission was prepared to die to protect Miss Tali'Zorah and complete this mission, and it looks like most of them did."

"Right, Keep your head down, we'll take it from here." Shepherd said.

The quarian growled, a sound he had never heard from before from one of his people. Though his experience was limited to Tali. "Hell with that, I've got some fight left in me. This launcher still works, I can still fire." Kal tried to get up, but Shepherd held him down.

"Stand down now, how do you think Tali would feel if you died?" Shepherd said.

"But..." he said.

"Look, Kal, you've done enough" Kaiden said.

"Besides, we need you to keep an eye on the way we came for when they try to flank us." Shepherd said.

Kal sighed and picked up a rifle. "Alright, Shepherd. I hope you know what you're doing," he replied, gripping the rifle tightly. "Most of the Geth are located on the left side of the area, so if you take that catwalk on the right side, you should be able reach the Colossus without much problem. Keep in mind that it has a clear shot of you there; watch out for its siege pulses." Shepherd nodded, he took the power cells from Reegar's missile launcher to replenish his own. With his rocket launcher replenished, he was ready to fight.

"Let's go" Shepherd ordered. He ran towards the catwalk, staying behind cover as much as possible as he heard sniper rifle shots behind him.

_**Afa: Keelish for Alpha**_

_**Prdel: Keelish for asshole**_


	22. Chapter 16b: Tali pt2

**Chapter 16b: Tali pt. 2**

_Tali'Zorah vas Neema_

_-Expert in combat tech, systems hacking_

_-Strong engineering background, familiar with Normandy_

_Formerly listed as Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, the quarian engineer earned her adult name after helping Shepard defeat Saren two years ago. Tali is currently on a classified assignment for the Migrant Fleet Admiralty Board on Haestrom, deep in geth-controlled space. Has strong bond with Commander Shepherd, can be used to keep Shepherd's trust.-Dossier_

The team reached the catwalk and ducked behind the solid metal railing, just as the siege pulse from the Colossus flew over them, impacting the stone wall on the side. Pieces of rubble rained around, but they got up and ran forward. A Geth trooper appeared before Shepherd, and he took cover behind a stone block. He leaned over his cover and shot at the trooper, sparks flying as the rounds impacted its metallic head, before a large chunk of it was blown off and the Geth dropped to the ground, disabled.

Once again he ducked as a siege pulse from the Colossus blasted nearby. He got up and ran; he was almost to the end of the catwalk. Suddenly another Geth trooper emerged from behind some cover. Shepherd instantly raised his SMG to shoot at it, but its head miraculously exploded pieces of metal and sparks sprayed from where its head had been. Shepherd could hear the echo of a sniper rifle resonating on the walls.

"Kal'Reegar is a good shot." Shepherd said.

"He's okay" Garrus muttered. Kaiden raised his brow.

"Jealous, Garrus?" he asked.

Garrus snorted. "I said okay, not great, I still hold that title"

"As well as the title for the galaxy's biggest ego" Kaiden joked.

"Shut it you two, we can joke after we get Tali" Shepherd ordered. He jumped down off the end of the catwalk, and took cover behind a large stone pillar. The Colossus was just ahead of him, it was locked on Shepherd. It launched another siege pulse in his direction, but team's cover handled the blast. However they were not safe, and geth destroyers and hunters came up to the ramp to the left to get the team out of cover. Kaiden gunned down the hunter and smashed it into the destroyer, just as it was going use its flamethrower, with the geth on the ground Garrus overloaded the destroyer's tanks and it exploded.

Before they could take on the colossus, geth troopers and rocket troopers surrounded the large geth. Some shots rang out, and Kal took down three rocket troopers, while Shepherd took down the troopers. Garrus gunned down more destroyers and hunters that were trying to get up the ramp to flank, however while the turian were handling their flank, he was wide open for the colossus' siege pulse, pushing back Garrus into the sun. A spark happened and the turian's shield was gone.

"Damn it…." He cursed as the colossus was preparing to fire again. With no shields, this was going to hurt very badly. Kaiden emerged, and used his reave before the Colossus' primary weapon could fire again, and began to unload rounds from his assault rifle at the Colossus, withering down its shields. Garrus got back into the shade added to Kaiden's fire, draining the Colossus' shield drained faster. The team took cover as the Colossus fired another siege pulse, and emerged once again, continuing to shoot at it. Garrus and Kaiden finally began to see the assault rifle rounds impacting its body; the shields were finally down.

"Wayne, now's your chance!" Kaiden said. Shepherd nodded, and pulled out his missile launcher. It was time to destroy this thing. Shepherd held the missile launcher ready, and waited until the Colossus once again shot a siege pulse in his direction. It impacted nearby, sending chips of rock and dust flying everywhere. He then emerged from his cover one last time, and launched a rocket straight at the unshielded Colossus. The missile impacted the Colossus' "neck", and before it could recover from the impact, another missile had struck its body. And then another, and another. The colossus was being utterly bombarded by missiles, not being given the chance to stabilize itself and return fire.

Shepherd went down to ground level and just kept pulling the trigger, launching missile after missile, walking towards the Colossus as each missile fired. There was anger and hate in his face, towards the Geth which had threatened his Tali's life. Suddenly, the missile blasts against the Colossus stopped. Nothing happened when he pulled the trigger. The missile launcher was out of ammunition.

"Fuck" he cursed. The Colossus managed to fully regain its balance, and stood upright. It was very badly damaged. The team then looked on with terror, as it began to descend unto itself; it was beginning to use its repair protocol. All the damage he had inflicted would be negated, and he was out of missiles to do it again. He needed to think, fast, he needed to find a way to finish it off.

"Plan B, Kaiden" Shepherd said.

"I thought you never ask" he said with a smirk.

Kaiden threw a new heavy weapon to Shepherd. It was a white cannon with for firing ports with the Alliance logo on the side, unlike a lot of Alliance weapon designs, this cannon was sleek, with a smooth curve at its hilt. He fired the cannon; it released a barrage of miniature missiles, each of which hit the Colossus. The geth was taking hits faster than it could repair itself until they saw the Colossus' body get pushed a few feet into the air and tossed to the side, as parts and pieces of it flew in every direction. The blast had ripped an entire leg off it, sending it flying. The bright optic on the Colossus' head turned off; it was completely disabled. Shepherd pulled the trigger one last time and another barrage hit the colossus, and he pulled it again and more missiles came out, as the missile hit the large geth more of its parts started to fall apart, until finally it exploded, give Shepherd some smug satisfaction. Shepherd went to the bunker door.

"What the hell is that?" Garrus asked going down the stairs.

"The M-560 Hydra, a new weapon from the alliance" Kaiden said proudly. "The Hydra releases a barrage of miniature missiles, each guided by an independent homing system that seeks out exposed enemies. On impact, three shaped charges per missile explode in sequence. The first overloads the target's kinetic barriers before the second destroys its armor, clearing a path for the third warhead to detonate inside the target."

"You are such a nerd" Shepherd said.

Kaiden shrugged. "Don't knock until you try it" he said. "I had to ask Anderson to pull a lot of favors to get the weapon, since it was just off the factory line"

Shepherd scanned the locking mechanism with his omni-tool. After a short while Kaiden and Garrus reached him. "We got here just in time, these Geth were almost done hacking into this door." Shepherd told them. He picked at his omni-tool, working on opening the door. He was about to step inside when a shotgun blast tore a chunk from the stone wall at the edge of the door. A familiar voice, clear and angry came from within the room.

"Bring it on, bosh'tet! If I'm going to die, I'm taking you with me!" Tali came up out of cover, ready to shoot.

"Whoa, Rookie! Chill it's me" Shepherd assured her.

"Wayne?" Tali asked. She suddenly dropped her shotgun and ran to Shepherd and jumped into his arms. Shepherd embraced her tightly and kissed her mouthpiece "Keelah, I'm so glad to see you, what are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass, Rookie, I got information that you were in trouble and came here as soon as we could" he said.

"You... heard I was in trouble and flew to a planet full of geth to help?" she asked. "You are the most foolish, idiotic, brave, and sweetest bosh'tet I have ever known."

Shepherd kissed her forehead. "Anything for my girl" Shepherd said with a smirk.

"Hey, what about us?" Kaiden said with a smile.

"Kaiden, Garrus" Tali said embracing her two old friends. "How have you been?"

"Keeping the boss alive, you know how he likes suicidal odds" Garrus said with a smirk. Tali giggled.

"Thank you for keeping my bosh'tet alive" she said.

"Oh ha ha" Shepherd said in mock-annoyance. He then smiled at Tali. "If your mission is complete after this, I was hoping you could join the Normandy again, Miss Vas Neema."

At the mention of the mission, the quarian turned back to the console and hit a few buttons. Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. "The mission. I hope this data is worth the lives the Admiralty Board just used up to get it. I can't believe information on dying stars is worth the lives of all those marines."

A grunt came from behind them, followed by a pained laugh. "Not all of those marines, ma'am." Kal came in holding his side.

"Kal!" she said, spinning on her heel. "You're alive!"

"Thanks to your Commander, here. You weren't kidding about this guy. You kept talking about him and I here I was thinking it was just tall tales from the Pilgrimage but he handled that colossus nice... if not terribly neat. Tell me, did we get what we came for?"

Tali lowered her head. "We did. I just hope it was worth it."

"So do I," Kal'Reegar said. He then smirked. "So, I'm guessing you going with Shepherd"

"Yes, I'm leaving with Wayne. I saw this mission to the end just as I promised to. If the Admirals have a problem with it, they can go to hell."

"I'll send the results to the Admirals then. You two take care of each other, like good Keintiman." Kal'Reegar responded with a smirk.

Shepherd tilted his head in confusion, not getting the word, but Tali seemed to as was blushing hotly. "Kal!"

"Alright guys, Lead the way to the shuttle." Shepherd said, and they all began to move out. Kal'Reegar departed from the group, while Garrus and Kaiden walked in front, leading the group to the shuttle.

"Um, rookie, what does Keintiman mean?" Shepherd asked.

Tali blushed. "It means my beginning and my end; it's what we refer to Quarians who have bonded."

Shepherd smiled kissed her. "Saya Sayang Kamu" he said.

"Saya Sayang Kamu, jiwa" she said.

Tali and Shepherd followed behind them, holding each other's hands as they walked.

_**Keintiman: Keelish for 'my beginning and end' Human equivalent: Soulmate**_

_**Saya Sayang Kamu: Keelish for I love you**_

_**Jiwa: Keelish for 'my heart and hope'**_

_Recruited Tali'Zorah for the team. Though loyal to Shepherd, Tali'Zorah's antagonism toward Cerberus necessitates observation. Also sending recon units to examine geth activities in case activities on Haestrom provoke action.-Mission Summary _


	23. Chapter 17: Changes

_**Warning: Smut incoming…**_

**Chapter 17: Changes**

After being rescued on Haestrom, Tali were recruited by Shepherd to take on the collectors. She was excited; she was going to once again work with the man she loved. When they came on to the ship, Joker was the first one to greet her. They joked a few times about old times, but then he grew silent, and apologized about what happened with the original Normandy. Tali forgave him, those were dark times and she had forgotten that it wasn't just her that suffered from Shepherds death. Tali then asked if there was any more of the old crew that on board, Joker smirked and told her Chakwas was also on board. She smiled, her boyfriend, Garrus, Kaiden, Joker, and Chakwas were here with her it started to feel like the old days, but then as she walked deeper into the ship and saw the Cerberus logo and personnel, the cruel reality set in.

"This isn't right" she muttered. Shepherd looked at her.

"What isn't right, rookie?" Shepherd asked.

"That Cerberus is here, that they build the Normandy it feels like a sick joke" Tali said. Shepherd hugged her.

"I know" he said. "After we finish with the mission, I'm cutting ties, but until then we have to play nice, ok?"

"Ok" she said. They went into the conference room and met with Jacob.

"Cerberus saw footage of you in action, Tali'Zorah" Jacob said. "We're looking forward to having you on the team, the mission will benefit from your engineering expertise."

Tali crossed her arms. "Don't play nice, I still haven't forgotten what Cerberus did to the fleet"

"Rookie…" Shepherd said.

Tali sighed and looked back at Jacob. "I'll work with you, but that's all, I'm here for Wayne and my old friends."

"I can respect that" Jacob said. "I understand your distrust. I hope we can get pass that"

"Feel free to study the ship" Shepherd said. "I'll give you full access"

"Thank you, Wayne, I can't feel secure without knowing how the ship works" Tali said. "I'll be down in engineering"

"Alright, I'll check on you when things are done here" Shepherd said. Tali nodded.

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the Normandy's AI" Jacob said. Shepherd groaned and palmed his face. Tali looked back and glared at him.

As Tali looked through the ship, she couldn't stop thinking about what Jacob said. _'The Normandy has an AI? Those pribadi would commit the same mistake as we did.' _She thought angrily. As she continued to walk through the ship, she notice some of the Cerberus personnel, they didn't look particularly dangerous, in fact she had a surprisingly pleasant conversation with one of them, a woman named Kelly, who didn't seem like she would fit in with an organization like Cerberus.

"So you must be Tali?" a voice said behind her.

Tali jumped and turned around to see nothing there. "W…who are you, bosh'tet?" she asked nervously.

"I have to say, cuz didn't tell me, how cute you were" the voice said with a laugh.

"Cuz?" she asked.

The voice revealed itself to be a woman was dressed in a black full body suit, with a metallic colored material artistically woven in two pieces from her torso to her thighs. A black hood was thrown over her head, masking all but a glint of eyes in its shadow. A pair of lips was curved in a smile, a bright pink stripe over the bottom lip, adding a touch of flair to her appearance.

"Yeah" She said. "I'm Kasumi Goto, I'm his cousin"

"Cousin? He never told about any other family other than the one on Mindoir" Tali said.

"Well, we only met recently" She said with a smile. "You should have seen his face; it was kinda like yours actually"

"Yeah, about that, what's the big idea?" she asked. "You scared me shitless" Kasumi gave a big laugh.

"You are definitely Shepherd's girlfriend" she said with a smile.

Tali crossed her arms. "You're avoiding the question, Kasumi" she said annoyed.

"Sorry, just a bit of practice"

"Practice for what?" she asked.

"I'm a professional thief; the best in the business, actually, but not the most famous. Need to watch my step to keep it that way. I was just using the opportunity to keep my skills sharp." Kasumi said proudly.

Tali's eyes went wide. "What?!"

Kasumi tilted her head. "I hope my choice of occupation isn't an issue."

"Hell yeah it's an issue, Quarians may have a reputation as thieves and vagrants throughout the galaxy, but any of us who resort to stealing do so out of necessity, not because we enjoy it. Thievery is a serious crime among my people. So regardless of what you may think, I am not like you, and if think I'd find it acceptable because..."

"Chill, I know about your people's reputation, trust me Lia gets it all the time"

"Who's Lia?" Tali asked. Just then she heard a voice. Out of one of the rooms, came a quarian woman in a black and red suit. The woman was very young, nineteen or twenty at best. She walked towards the two of them with a very annoyed look on her face, mostly likely directly at the hooded woman.

"Onē-san, I told you to wait before using…" She said before seeing Tali. "Oh, are you Onii-chan's girlfriend?"

"Onii-chan?" Tali asked tilting her head. "You mean Wayne?"

"Sorry about that, I thought Lia some Japanese" Kasumi said. "She's been looking forward to meeting someone from the Fleet"

"Kasumi, I keep on telling you the stealth cloak upgrades need to be tested first" Lia said annoyed.

"But I feel naked without the cloak, you know that" Kasumi whined. Lia gave her a look and Kasumi sighed. "Fine, but do hurry"

"I will, I hope we can talk some more Miss Tali" She said with a bow.

"Please, just Tali" she said. Lia nodded and went back to their room. "What did you mean she was looking forward to meeting someone from the Fleet?"

"Lia is a nedas, an exile" Kasumi explained. "She knows nothing of the fleet, other than what her parents told her."

"Oh Keelah…" Tali gasped. "Does she know about your occupation?"

Kasumi shook her head. "No, but I'll have to tell her at some point"

"You care about her"

"She's like my little sister and I hate to lie to her about my work, but I'm afraid how she will react to find out I've used her invention to steal" she said sadly.

"Don't worry, it'll all work out" Tali said. "And don't worry, I'll teach her about the fleet."

"Thanks" Kasumi said walking away. "I look forward to working with you"

Tali went down to engineering; she met some of her new teammates. Grunt was like Wrex except much more violent and impatient with none of the charm that the older krogan had. Zaeed reminded her like Shepherd, except older and a lot gruffer than the spectre. As for Jack, she didn't met, but from what she could tell from the fuck you she yelled out, she was very, very angry, it was going to be very interesting working with them to say the least.

She then met with the engineers she would be working with. Donnelly and Gabby were again a pleasant surprise, even though they were Cerberus, they didn't hold the same any of the views of aliens that the rest of the organization held. She found the duo quite funny, Donnelly with his bad attempts at trying to seduce Tali and Gabby straightening him out with an elbow to the gut. It was in some ways it was kind of eerie to watch how they interacted, it was kinda like how her and Shepherd was like back on the original Normandy. She then started to miss the old days, things were much simpler back then, but at least she had the systems to work on, she could say this about the Cerberus ship, it improved on almost everything on the original, and with improvements could be even better.

She then felt strong arms wrap around him. "I know you're there Wayne, you can't surprise me anymore" she said with a smile.

"Spoilsport" Shepherd said. He then kissed her on the back of her helmet. "How are things? Are you getting adjusted?"

"Say what you will about Cerberus, but they know ships" She said with glee. "Though I don't know if it can stand up to collector fire, I have some ideas, but I need to run some simulations"

"How is it that both my best friend and girlfriend are complete nerds?" Shepherd asked with a smirk. She turned around and faced Shepherd with a smile.

"I don't know about Kaiden, but I know with me, you find brains sexy" Tali said in sultry voice. She then proceeded to grab Shepherd's ass, the spectre gave a lecherous smirk.

"Hmm, fuck yeah, got any ideas?" Shepherd asked.

"Well…" Tali said playfully. Shepherd got the idea and grabbed her hand.

"Donnelly, Gabby you can take care of this, right?" Shepherd asked. Before the duo could talk, Shepherd and Tali was already out of engineering and into the elevator. All of a sudden before Shepherd could press the button to his room, Tali arms went under his shirt and took it off and then activated the nerve stim pro to get her in the mood, while, so Shepherd pressed the button.

"EDI, lock the elevator, no one gets the elevator until we get to my room" Shepherd said.

"Yes, commander, should I also activate the decontamination unit in your room?" she asked.

"Duh" he said as he kissed Tali's neck. She moaned.

"Decon unit? You thought of everything" she said. As the elevator went up, the couple was feeling each other up; Shepherd hooked one of her legs around his hip, ran his hand up to grab and pulls her tight against him. His other hand roamed over her suit to mold his fingers around her breast while, until they reached Shepherd's cabin.

"Decontamination unit activated" EDI said.

"I almost like the damn thing now" She said as she ripped off her helmet. She kissed Shepherd's lips hungrily as Shepherd took off her suit. Tali pressed Shepherd against the wall of his cabin. Her hands went up his chest to his shoulders to dive down arms that were circled around her. With a groan, Shepherd turned her, so that she was pressing the wall. His lips trailed down her neck to her breasts, she shuttered and moaned at his touch. He then smirk, Tali squeals in surprise when Shepherd picks her up and walks over to the bed.

"You're so strong" She said with a smirk.

"I was rebuilt well" He said. Shepherd went to her breasts and sucked on them as Tali moaned.

Tali push him off. "Pants off, now" She said breathlessly.

"Yes ma'am" he said as he frantically took his pants and underwear off. Tali pulled him to bed and stroked his cock. "Like it?" she said.

"Ah fuck" he said in pleasure. He went to her neck and nuzzled it. "I missed you" he whispered in her ear.

"Show me" She said. Shepherd smirked and went down between her legs. "Sayang…" she moaned as he licked and fingered her clit. Shepherd was then on his back, Tali looked at him in confusion, until he glowed blue and she found herself glowing and in the air. The biotic field was gentle and yet intense at the same time, she herself on top of Shepherd as he used biotics to guide her to his cock and thrust her; Tali wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he increased in intensity. She then got off and turned around with her ass facing Shepherd, she looked back with a sly smile on her face. Shepherd looked at her with surprise.

"Why Ms. Vas Neema, you are a dirty, dirty girl" Shepherd said with smirk. "I'm surprised…"

"Good…" Tali said in a sultry voice. Shepherd up behind her and stuck his cock in her ass, the quraian's eyes flash as she felt the jolt of pain, after all it was her first time suggesting anal, but Shepherd was gentle as usual, going slowly at her pace. When she was ready, the spectre went faster and more intense, making her knees go weak until she was on all fours. Shepherd's cock got out of her ass and he wrapped his arms around her waist as his cock went into her vagina again, he laid on his back with Tali on him thrusting into her. Tali was in ecstasy, she was glad to see death did slow him down one bit. It was too much for Tali, and she gave loud scream of pleasure.

"I'm…I'm" She said. "KEELAH!" The couple released together, Tali turned around and kissed Shepherd deeply and the two embraced. A moment past, and Shepherd and Tali rested while the cold air cooled them of their passion. Tali's head rested on Shepherd's chest as they stared at the stars.

"It's beautiful" She said. Shepherd smiled and kissed her forehead.

"It is, but not as beautiful as you" he said. "I know it will be hard to work with Cerberus and an AI, but I need you, more than you know"

Tali looked him, his eyes was dull and tired, despite acting like his old self in front of the crew, in reality something bothered him.

Tali kissed him. "What's wrong?"

"You remembered when I got spaced?" He asked solemnly. Tali grabbed his arm tightly; it was something she didn't to remember.

"Yes" she said.

"I...I can't get the images out of my head" he strained. "I still remember everything, the pain in my chest, choking for air, as I watched our home gets destroyed." She looked at him. Tears fell from his eyes as he struggled to get the next words out. "Seeing that day over and over, seeing everyone in danger, you in danger, and I couldn't…do anything, not a damn thing…"

Tali held him tightly. "Shh, you came back to us, to me" she choked. "That's all that matters"

"I love you" Shepherd said softly. The two lovers kissed deeply.

"I love you too, more than you know"

_**Pribadi: Keelish for idiot  
Sayang: Keeish forlove or lover**_

_**Review and Comment… **_


	24. Chapter 18: Blue Vengence

**Chapter 18: Blue Vengeance**

Kaiden and Garrus were eating breakfast in the crew quarters until they saw Tali and Shepherd meet them. Shepherd had a huge grin on his face, while Tali were sneezing a little. Garrus and Kaiden looked at them with a knowing look of what they did. Although, they understood with Shepherd being dead for two years, they had a lot of catching up to do. Tali was the first to sit down, while Shepherd went to get their own breakfast.

"You two had fun?" Kaiden asked with a smirk.

The quarian crossed her arms. "Wouldn't you like to know Kaiden?" Tali said.

"Trust me, we already know" he said. "A Quarian orgasm is hard to miss" Tali blushed. Shepherd came up to the table and gave Kaiden a disparaging look.

"Kaiden…" Shepherd said.

"Sorry, you two couldn't resist" he said. Shepherd gave Tali her nutrient paste, while Shepherd had the standard fare eggs, sausage, and grits. After they were finished, eating it was time to get to work. "What's the plan?"

The spectre gulped down the last of his orange juice and looked at Kaiden. "We recruit the last two members of our team" Shepherd said. "And lucky for us, they're on the same planet, Illum."

"Nice, so we can just pick them and be on our way" Garrus said.

"That would be nice, except the dossier don't tell us where on Illum they are" Shepherd said. "So we're going to have to shell out some dough"

"Not Information brokers, those people are crooks" the turian said with a groan. Garrus didn't have a problem information brokers, after all they were essential to vigilante gig back on Omega, he did however have a problem with their prices. Any info could range from a few hundred credits to several million, and since it was Illium an arm and a leg was pretty much a need for anything good.

"But they do give good info, so suit up you and Tali are coming with me" Shepherd said.

_Illium is a classic garden world developed to serve as entrepôt between the Terminus Systems and the Asari Republics. To abet this trade the normally stringent customs laws of Council space on product-safety-proscribed materials and sapient trafficking are relaxed. Officially, Illium is not an asari world; it is colonized and operated by asari corporate interests. This gives it the same legal latitude enjoyed by the human corporate research enclaves of Noveria. Illium is one of the youngest asari colonies settled during the 7th Expansion Wave. The first child born on the world is only now reaching her middle age. The world is hot and massive; ground settlement is only possible at the higher polar latitudes. In more equatorial locations the population is housed in arcology skyscrapers to escape the heat of the surface. -Codex_

The Normandy landed in Nos Astra, the capital city. With its large shiny, ivory towers it seems like a gleaming, beautiful city built by the heavens themselves, however due to it somewhat lax security and regulation of the planet's laws it has been remarked by some characters that the city is not as safe as it looks and that it can be as dangerous as Omega from one wrong turn or screwing with the wrong people. At the center of this, are the cutthroat economic and trade policies that even put the corporate planet Noveria to shame, with stockholders regularly betting if a new colony with make it through its first year. With these two sides, Nos Astra is living contradiction.

Tali looked out the window of the spaceport they landed in; she was the first one out waiting for Shepherd and Garrus. "Keelah…" She said in awe. She looked back at Shepherd as he got out of the ship "Wayne, we have to come here for a date one of these days" she said with a smile.

Shepherd smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Sounds like a plan, but first business before pleasure"

"Hmm, aye-aye, Commander" She said in a sultry voice.

Garrus snorted and shook his head "Don't be fooled, this place is Omega with nice buildings"

The quarian huffed "You've become the pessimist, Garrus" Tali said.

"It's not pessimism, it's just me being a realist" he said. He then saw an Asari with an elegant blue and red gown walking down the spaceport towards the team. In tow with her were two LOKI mechs, although the asari didn't look like she was going to cause trouble, Shepherd and team were prepared just in case.

"Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepherd. We've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for you visit" she said.

The spectre narrowed his eyes. "O…kay and you are?" Shepherd asked.

"My apologies, I am Careena, if you need assistance, don't be shy to ask" she said.

"Why do we get a free pass?" Tali asked. "Who waivered the fees?"

"Liara T'Soni, paid for all of your fees"

"Liara?" Garrus said to himself.

"When it is convenient for you, she would like to speak to you, she is near the trading floor" Careena said about to walk away. Garrus walked forward.

"Wait, why is she here?" the turian asked.

"Liara is the most respected information broker on Nos Astra" she said. "The capital is based upon trade, and information is valuable currency, Liara had done well for herself"

"Huh, interesting" Shepherd said. "Thanks, we'll see her now." The team made their way to the trading floor; it was a pretty interesting scene, people of different races trying to get rich, successes or failures of other people. However, it stopped being funny when Shepherd heard some of these people were betting on pirates and slavers to attack colonies just to boost their financial forecasts, it reminded him just how much hated corporate bloodsuckers like them.

"I can't believe Li is a broker" Garrus said. Tali looked at him.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Garrus sighed. "I don't know, to tell the truth, I'm angry at her because she walked out without saying goodbye, but I want to see her again"

"You still love her" Tali said.

"I guess, I mean we had something two years ago, at least I thought so but maybe I was just fooling myself" he said.

"Well, we are going to see her, so maybe she can explain herself" she said.

"Yeah, I guess" he said. The team made it to Liara's office, what they saw inside was a very different asari. She was talking to a human male, who looked like he pissed his pants.

"Have you faced an Asari Commando before? Few humans have" Liara said coldly. "I'll make it simple, pay me or I flay you alive. With my mind" Shepherd shuddered, it was eerily reminiscent of her mother.

_**Two years ago-Noveria**_

_"You do not know the privilege of being a mother." Surprised, they swung around weapons ready and faced an older asari. The asari wore a dark blue gown that shows a modest amount of cleavage, and a head-dress of the same color. By the looks of her, you wouldn't be able to tell that she was several centuries old. She stood at a comfortable distance, up a small case of stairs on a raised platform; she looked down on them with cold eyes full of murderous intent._

_Shepherd looked back at Liara, she looked downtrodden. "Mother…" she said sadly_

_"There's power in creation, human," Liara's mother explained. "To shape a life. Turn it toward happiness or despair." She then gave cold look at the structure next her. "Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies" Her cold glare was turned to the team, the team was on their guard, the look she gave meant she serious, deadly serious._

_"Give up, Benezia…come quietly and I'll show mercy, but if you force my hand…." Shepherd said seriously. "I'll put you down, and I rather not take down the mother of a friend" Benezia gave a chilling laugh; the team were slightly unsettled by it._

_"Really? Is that why you brought my disappointment of a daughter, to sway me? You truly are naïve, human" Benezia said coldly. He gaze went to Liara, and the young asari felt very small in her gaze."Tell me Liara, what have you told them about me, hmm?"_

_Liara lowered her head. "What could I say Mother? That you're insane? Evil?!" Liara sadly. "I just want... to save you and Shiala wants to save you too" She shook her head "Please stop this, mother, please…."_

_"I won't" Benezia answered her daughter. She then glowed blue and looked at Shepherd. "Tell me human, have you ever face an asari commando before? Few have…"_

_Shepherd narrowed his eyes at the older asari. "Damn you…you'd kill your own daughter, for Saren?!"_

_Benezia gave a cold laugh. "Kill her?" she asked. "I would burn my world, if it means bringing Saren greatness!" The team was taken aback by her declaration, she was absolutely beyond reasoning, they would have to fight her._

_"She's nuts…" Ash gasped. Shepherd looked back at Liara; she looked utterly defeated with tears down her cheeks._

_"Sorry, Liara" Shepherd whispered. Shepherd glowed blue and launched a strong biotic force at the Matriarch, but Benezia waved away the field like it was nothing. Ash fired at the asari with her pistol, but the bullet just bounced off her, she was in a biotic barrier and going by the distortions in the air, it was incredibly powerful._

_"Do not underestimate me, human" Benezia said coldly. She waved her hand again and a stasis field enveloped Shepherd, he was completely immobilized. Calmly and slowly, Benezia walked back some steps, to make way for several asari commandos appearing from behind her. "Kill them"_

"Liara?" Shepherd asked.

"Shepherd?" She said looking back. "Nyxeris, hold my calls" Her eyes soften, much to Shepherd's relief, she went over and hugged Tali and himself, however when she got to Garrus, things were so awkward that they opted for a simple handshake. "My sources said you were alive, but I never believed, it's good to see you"

"You too, though I never seen you ready to off someone in cold blood before" Shepherd said with a frown. "Wait, you have sources now?"

Liara chuckled a little. "It's just an act" she said. "A few, sources, contacts even hired muscle. Being an information broker paid the bills, and now you're back going after the collectors with Cerberus"

"Li, how do you know that? I wouldn't call that public knowledge" Garrus said.

"Information is my business now, and if you need information on anything, I'm happy to help" She said sitting down.

"Okay, I'm looking for two people for my team, Samara and Thane Krios" Shepherd said.

"I don't know where they are now, but I do know they got here just recently, I can call my contacts to find out, but it will take some time" She said.

"I guess we'll wait then" Shepherd said. "What about you? I could use you back on the Normandy"

Liara got up and gazed out the window. "I can't, I have…things I need to take care of." She said.

"Are you in trouble?" Garrus asked.

She shook her head. "No, it's been two long years, I had things to do, debts to repay"

Garrus snorted. "I bet, I guess it was so important that you didn't even bother to say goodbye" he said. Liara glared at him and approached him, she looked angry and even hurt.

"What makes you think I didn't want to?! I wanted to, but I couldn't" She said with emotion.

"Then why?!" Garrus asked. Tali got between them.

Liara calmed down. "Look, if you want to help, I need your to help with hacking, I need people I trust."

"What would you need?" Shepherd asked.

"If you disable security at key points around Illum, I can get the info I need. That would help me a great deal." Liara said.

"What's this all about? Liara, you can talk to us" Tali said.

Liara looked down. "Don't you think I want to? This isn't because I don't trust you" she said solemnly. "This is Illium, anything can be recorded."

"Hacking a terminal is pretty easy, why do you need us?" Tali asked.

"Because I trust you, hacking the terminals won't get you the data, but it will glitch the system." She said. "That glitch will make the local server vulnerable for a short time; you can get the data that way."

Shepherd sighed. "Alright we'll do it, but afterwards we want answers, you owe us that" Liara gave the team the data and they went on their way. It was located in port, not far from Liara's office, however once they got there; they spotted a lot of security guards in the port. Luckily, there were a lot of people, doing shopping, making business which made it easier to do what they needed to do. Tali went to the first terminal, due to being the fastest hacker on the Normandy, while Shepherd and Garrus were on the lookout.

"Uh-oh…"

"What is it Rookie?" Shepherd asked.

"Liara, didn't mention there would be a time limit when we hacked it" She said. "We got sixty seconds, before it alerts every guard in the area…"

"Shit…" The team went fanatically to the terminals, to not only to get the data but to stop an alarm from going off, which made things tougher as it made the team suspicious. Shepherd and Garrus had to distract the guards when they got too close. It took a while, but they were able to hack all the target terminals. They went back to meet with Liara.

"Done" Shepherd said.

"Thank you, with this data, I'll be able find the Shadow Broker's information caches from his agents." She said. The team looked at her blankly; the Shadow Broker was very dangerous individual with almost unlimited resources. Most people didn't simply go looking for the illusive information broke, usually it was the other way, and it usually ended with someone dead.

"Is he after you?" Garrus asked.

"Actually, he's on the run from me" She said with venom. "We cross paths after you died, Shepherd, I've been working to take him down, now I'm a step closer"

"What did he do to you?" Tali asked. "I never saw you ready to kill in cold blood before, you always hated violence"

"Things change, I was on a job with a friend and he didn't escape" she said. "I don't know if he's being tortured or worse. I owe him my life, and the Broker needs to pay with his life"

"What if I can help find him?" Shepherd asked.

"You can, but The Shadow Broker has many contacts, the most powerful is someone called the observer" She said typing on her laptop. "Taking down the Observer will bring me closer to the Shadow broker"

"Alright, we'll help" Shepherd said.

"The data you gave me pointed to logs kept by his agents, the logs were deleted but it is possible to reconstruct it" she said. "The broker is cautious, so his agents will be referred by their title and race"

"Ok, will be back soon" Shepherd said.

The team got started; the first terminal was the easiest to get to due to being so close to Liara's office. The first data, was on a vorcha trader wanting no further contact with a salarian and the Observer recommended a kill, but may have a grudge. The next terminal, was near a bar called Eternity, another easy one,with no heavy traffic they could work in peace. The second data was about a smuggler and assassin refusing to work with a vorcha due to lack of trust. The third terminal was near asari and a volus, it was risky due to having potential witnesses, but luckily they weren't paying attention due to the annoyed asari clerk having to deal with a demanding volus. The third data was about a trader trying to kill a batarian, due to hating slavers, but the data said it was likely more than that and tells the Observer to watch them for the time being.

The fourth terminal was a digital information board, smack dabbed in the middle of a busy trading floor, which meant Tali had to work fast. The fourth data was about a turian was asking too many question, the Observer recommended killing him and framing it on their assassin or salarian contract. The fifth and final terminal in the previous port they were in, at a kiosk near a store selling merchandise from Serrice Technology, a usually busy store, however due its employee's being on brake, there wasn't much traffic making it easy to extract the data. The last data was about the same turian only that he was working well with a trader, and the Observer withdrew the kill order, due to difficulty in securing contract by other means. After getting data from five terminals, they were able to piece the info together. Liara gave them call.

"Anything?" she asked.

"All five are male, the Observer is female, and who gave you this?" Shepherd asked her.

My assistant, Nyxseris. She gave me the info…Nyxseris gave me the info" She said realizing.

Another woman began to talk. "You will never find the Shadow broker, pureblood" The com shut off abruptly, Liara was in danger.

"Liara, Liara!" Shepherd said. He looked to his team and saw that Garrus was already running to Liara's office. "Let's hurry" he said. Tali nodded.

Garrus got to the office and saw Liara being held by the neck. The room was ransacked, with the walls full of dents and cracks. The window behind Liara's desk was broken, with her large desk flipped over. "Li!" he said. He started to fire at the asari and hit her in the arm. Nyxseris howled in pain holding her wounded arm. Garrus got in front of Liara, with his gun pointed at Nyxseris. Shepherd and Tali caught up soon afterwards, with their guns pointed at the asari.

"The gang's all here, touching" she mocked.

"Give up you're surrounded" Shepherd said. Nyxseris looked at Shepherd.

"Cerberus did a good job in rebuilding, though you should really be thanking Liara for that little gift" She said.

"What do you mean?" Shepherd asked.

"Have you ever wondered how Cerberus was able to rebuild your body?" Nyxseris asked. She pointed at Liara. "That pureblood right there"

Garrus looked back at Liara. "Li, what does she mean?" Garrus asked. Liara looked away from the team ashamed.

"I…I was the one who gave Shepherd's body to Cerberus" she said.

"W-What?" Shepherd asked looking at her. Shepherd couldn't believe what he was hearing, the reason he had to work with the very organization he despised was because of a friend. A friend he trusted with his life.

"Why, Liara?" Tali asked.

"Go on, tell them why you would betray your only friends" Nyxseris said with a smirk.

"Because they said they could bring you back, Shepherd" Liara said. "Because you were the only one who could fight the reapers, and to do that I had to take it back from the Shadow Broker"

Shepherd's eyes went wide. "Why would the Shadow Broker want my body?"

"He was going to sell your body to the collectors" She said. The team glared back at Nyxseris and raised their weapons at the asari. Her eyes went wide as she was gunned down by the team. She slumped against the wall, her lifeless eyes staring at the floor. Liara got off the floor and picked up an OSD in her pocket. She looked away unable to face her friends.

"Thane Krios, he is going after Nanssana Dantius, you can speak to a dockworker named Seryna" She said. "Samara arrived recently and is registered with Tracking Officer Dara. Officer Dara can be found at the transportation hub."

"Let's go" Shepherd said not looking at Liara. He and Tali walked away.

"I'm sorry…" She said softly.

Garrus was the only one left, watching her started the process of cleaning up her office. "I screwed up, Garrus…." Liara said sadly. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I barely got away with my own life, when Cerberus came to me, they said they could bring him back, I told myself doing it for galaxy, but really I did it because I couldn't let go of my only family."

"I truly am the most pathetic person in the galaxy" she said with tears streaming down her face.

"Hey, come here" Garrus said softly. He wrapped her in an embrace as she started to cry.


	25. Chapter 19a: The Justicar pt1

**Chapter 19a: The Justicar pt. 1**

_Justicar Samara_

_-Biotics strength near that of an asari matriarch_

_-Extensive weapons training_

_Samara is a justicar, a rare member of an asari monastic group trained in enhanced combat biotics alongside standard weapons. Samara was recently sighted on Illium, outside of normal asari space.-Dossier_

After the shocking revelation that Liara, an old comrade of the Normandy team, turned Shepherd's body over to Cerberus, the team was split on whether to even trust her again. Tali of course believed Liara had betrayed them, betrayed Shepherd by giving his body to Cerberus. Garrus was on the other side, believing Liara did what she had to. Kaiden, once he heard about what happened was disturbed, but wasn't going to condemn her so quickly.

"You want us to forgive her?" Tali asked. "She betrayed us"

Garrus frowned. "How can you say that, Tali?" he asked. "Liara had proven herself time and again; hell she's even fought her own mother to the death"

"Damn it, Garrus, we all know what Cerberus is like, we fought them just as much as we did Saren and Sovereign!" Tali hissed. "And she still gave Wayne's body over to them!

"She didn't have a choice, you would know if you'd just listen to her" Garrus said angrily. "Or would, you rather have Shepherd stay dead, or turned over to the collectors to be the reaper's slave?!". Tali glared at him.

"How dare you?! I went through hell when he died two years ago" She growled.

"So did the rest us, what makes you special? Oh wait because you're screwing the boss" he asked. Tali clenched her fist, this was about to escalate quickly. This was a disaster; they just got back together as a team, and this threated to tear the team apart. Kaiden didn't agree with what Liara did, but he understood. Kaiden got between them, to nip this problem in bud.

"Enough, both of you" Kaiden said. He looked at Garrus first. "That was a low blow, Garrus and you know it" Garrus looked away and Kaiden looked at Tali. "And Tali can you honestly say you wouldn't do the same?"

"I…" Tali said.

"The fact of the matter if we knew back then that Wayne could be brought back to life, we would have joined have joined, because he meant something to each of us"

Tali lowered her head. "But it's Cerberus….no matter what…they will never let him go…" she said sadly.

"If Cerberus won't let him go, then we'll make them" Kaiden said firmly. "It's the least we can do, after everything he's done for us" Just then Shepherd approached, and the team stiffened.

"Hey" he simply said.

"You…overheard everything?" Kaiden asked.

"Yeah, I thought I could not forgive her, but listening to you guys made me think…" Shepherd said. "Anything could have gone wrong, but it didn't, maybe Liara knew but still she tried, it's easy to get mad at her, and yet I can't be angry with her, because in the end, I'm back" He went over to Tali and cupped her cheek "And I'm staying…" Tali hugged him tightly, Kaiden sighed, they narrowly dodged a bullet there.

Garrus rubbed his head sheepishly. "Look, Tali about what I said….I'm…"

"Don't worry about it, Garrus…"

"I'll talk to Liara, it has to be me" Shepherd said. "But now we need to find Samara, Kaiden and Rookie you're with me"

_**Illium**_

The team went to the commercial port to speak with Officer Dara. They then found Dara."Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"I'm looking for an asari warrior named Samara" Shepherd said.

Dara looked at Shepherd. "Wait, why?" she asked. She then went pale. "Did she kill someone already?" Shepherd raised a brow, exactly what kind of person was this justicar for Dara to have this kind of reaction. Now he was really curious about this Samara.

"How would I know?" Shepherd asked. "I just looking for her"

"Oh sorry, you see justicars abide this code, to deal with injustices, most time by lethal force" she said. "Which can be a problem, as everyone skirts the law in one way or another"

"Huh, if she's such a problem, why don't you just kick her off the planet?" Tali asked.

"Justicars are asari of great respect, no one would dare question their judgement, however because their code, they are likely to cause a cross-species incident."

"Well it's good thing we're looking for her help" Kaiden said.

"Take the cab to the spaceport, Samara is there" Dara said.

One they reached the space port, they began their search for Samara. Before they could search, a volus bumped into Shepherd, the spectre was fine, but the volus tumbled to the ground. His two turian bodyguards help him up and the volus took a breath and glared at him. "Watch where you're going, human!"

Shepherd frowned. "Likewise midget" Just as the volus was about to walk away a voice called out.

"Where do you think you're going?" the asari asked. The asari walked past the team and up to the volus. She was purple, with what looked like a cop uniform, for a member of an only female race, she was quite masculine as her voice was rough. Shepherd gazed at the turians, they looked like they were going to cause trouble, but the asari stared them down hard and they suddenly back down. Shepherd was impressed, she didn't back down from anyone.

"I'm taking my goods to Omega, Detective" the volus said.

"You're not going anywhere, merchant. Not until I solve this murder."

The volus scoffed. "I have nothing to do with that. It was those mercenary thugs you can't seem to get rid of."

"The victim was your business partner, and I'm not ruling you out. You'll leave when I'm sure you're not a suspect"

"What about that justicar?! Everyone says that she's gone crazy and could start killing again! I need to leave" the volus said nervously.

The asari smirked. "A justicar only kills the unjust, so I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Pitne For. Find me in the station if you need me." She went inside the building, while the volus huffed at his delay.

"You guys heard that?" Kaiden asked.

"Yep, I think we just found our first clue" Shepherd said. The team went inside to meet the detective, she was has her desk filling out police reports. She saw looked at the team approaching and she resumed with her reports.

"Nice guns, try not to use them in my district" the asari said.

"Thanks for warning though, a bit pointless for a spectre" Shepherd said sitting down.

"Great, a smartass spectre and a justicar in the same place, the galaxy likes to work me to the bone" She said with a scoff. "Detective Anaya T'Sa, so tell me what a spectre is doing here"

"We're here to take your justicar off your hands" Kaiden said.

Anaya looked at them. "If you're here to settle a score with her, take it somewhere else-I've got enough trouble here as it is" the asari said.

"We're here to recruit her for an upcoming mission" Tali said.

"Sounds important, justicars usually work alone, but they are drawn to impossible causes" she said. "If you can get her out of my district, then we have a deal, she's at the crime scene"

"You're letting her into a crime scene?" Kaiden asked.

"I'm a cop-I'll work with a justicar all I can. Besides she's been working on crime scenes longer than all of us combined."

"You seem anxious to get her out of here" Shepherd said.

The detective sighed. "My bosses want me to detain her. They're afraid she'll cause some cross-species incident" she said. "But her damn code won't let be taken in. If I try it, I die, since I have no interest in dying, I'll be thrilled to help you."

"She would kill a cop, doesn't seem just" he said.

"She would defend an honest cop, but she would kill an army of dirty cops" the asari said. "I admire her dedication, but her presence is a still a problem, I need her gone."

"Your boss is sending you to certain death, you can disobey"

"We can disobey? I never knew" Kaiden said.

"We should remember that the next time Wayne puts us in a certain death situation" Tali said. "Which is twice a day"

"Most of the time, I'm not being stupid about it, can't say the same for the detective"

"I'm cop and I know my duty. I've been ordered to detain her and I will-unless you get her out of here, like now"

"How do I get there?" Shepherd asked.

"It's around the corner, just look for the police line. I'll send word you're coming" she said. "Be careful-the local Eclipse mercs have been all over the back alleys lately" Shepherd nodded.

The team made their way to the back allies of the space port. Around the corner they overhear Eclipse mercenaries deploying a squad to hunt down the justicar. Shepherd peeked around the corner and saw a vanguard, three LOKI mechs, and soldier. "Get the rest of bravo team prepped. Alpha squad went after her twenty minutes ago, they've went dark" the leader said.

"Looks like we're too late" Tali said.

"Maybe not, got your drone prepped" Shepherd said. Tali nodded and activated Chatika. The drone floated to the mercs.

"A drone?" one of them said. "What's a repair drone doing here?" As she came close to the drone, one of the LOKI mech started to point its gun at the merc.

"Watch out!" one of them said as the mech fired and killed one of the mercs.

"Now!" Shepherd ordered. The team came out of the corner and fire on the mercs. Shepherd lifted his hand and summoned a singularity field. Tali pointed her omni-tool at Chatika, and the drone exploded, causing the mercs to fly. The battle was quickly over. "Let's go"

The team passes some more police tape and opens a door, to see an Eclipse mercenary flying at the wall near them. The team looked up and saw two asari talking, an older one and a younger one. "Those were my best troops" the lieutenant said in fear.

"Tell me what I need to know, and I'll be gone from here" A voice said. "Where did you send her?"

"You think I would betray her? She would hurt me in ways you can't imagine." The lieutenant said. "A name, Lieutenant. Your life depends on it."

"You can kill me, but one of us will take you down, justicar." She growled. The older justicar grabs the older one with her biotics and throws the young asari in yellow Eclipse armor into the ground. The older asari woman followed her, leaping from the room to glide down effortlessly with her biotics. The fallen asari tried to crawl away but the justicar shoved her down with a foot against her neck.

"What was the name of the ship she left on?" she asked in a level, commanding tone.

"Go to hell!" She strained.

The older woman shook her head, almost appearing saddened. "Find peace in the embrace of the goddess" she said solemnly. Her leg shifted suddenly and a sickening crack filled the silence, and the young asari's body going limp.

Her gaze turned to Shepherd and the team. She was a striking figure, clad in form-fitting leathers of dark red. A thick piece of jewelry was about her neck, something between a necklace and a choker, seemingly made of gold. While she didn't appear aged, for some reason she just felt older, wiser. She spoke.

"My name is Samara; I am a justicar and servant of its code. My quarrel is with these Eclipse sisters, but I see three well-armed people before" she said. "Are we friend or foe?"

Shepherd looked at the battered body of the merc Samara just killed. "Friend, trust me" Shepherd said. "I'm going up against suicidal odds and I need the best-that's you"

"I sense the truth in what you say and I'm humbled, but I seek a dangerous fugitive" she said. "I cornered her here, but the sisters smuggled her off-world. I must find the name of the ship she left on before the trail goes cold."

"I wish you were willing to go with the human, Justicar" a voice said. It was the detective; she came in not very happy at this predicament. "I've been ordered to take you into custody if you won't leave"

"You risk a great deal following your orders, but fortunately I will not have to resist"

"How is that fortunate?" Kaiden asked.

"I am allowed to cooperate with the law for one day, after that day, I must return to my investigation" Samara said.

"I won't be able to release you that soon" the detective said.

"You won't be able to stop me"

"Maybe we can help find that ship for you" Tali said.

"Yeah, you get your clue, I get my recruit, and the detective doesn't die" Shepherd said.

"The volus merchant Pitne For is tied to this. Eclipse mercs are preparing to kill" Samara said. "But you must hurry; otherwise I will not have a choice"

"Got it, we'll be quick" Shepherd said. Samara nodded and went with the detective. She looked back at the team.

"Thank You" she said. They were gone.

"Let's get to work" Shepherd ordered. The team went to look for Pitne For.


	26. Chapter 19b: The Justicar pt2

**Chapter 19b: The Justicar pt. 2**

After getting out of the back alleys, they went to the volus merchant, Pitne For. He saw the team approach him. "Hello Earth-clan, how may I help you?" he asked politely. Shepherd crouched down and grabbed his suit, the volus looked at him with fear in his eyes, at least he thought so volus were much harder to read than quarians.

"Drop the act and start talking" Shepherd said. "I'm looking for info"

"What info is that?" he asked.

"Like why the Eclipse mercs are after you?" Kaiden asked with crossed arms. "And don't lie"

See that the team wasn't going to let him off if they don't get any information, Pitne For sighed in resignation. "I smuggled a chemical that boosts biotic power" he said.

"That's all? I don't believe it, there's more to this" Tali said.

Pitne For cleared his throat. "I, ah, might have forgotten to mention that the chemical is also…uh…toxic" he said sheepishly.

"What is this chemical?" Kaiden asked.

"It's called Minagen X3 and its very, very…um illegal. Anyone with biotic powers who is exposed to the chemical see a boost in biotic abilities." He said. "The higher the concentration, the higher the abilities, but too much and you die, a part the Eclipse found disagreeable"

Shepherd crossed his arm and frowned. "And you just so happen to forget? It sounds to me you fucked with the wrong people" he said. "But I can make this go away; just tell us about their base"

"It's a series of docking bays where they keep their private ships. They're well-armed and they have mechs"

"Nothing we haven't dealt before, what else?" Tali asked.

"They're all murderers. Every one of them kills as part of their initiation" he said "Now, I sense you want something more from me, what is it?"

"The Eclipse smuggled someone off world, I need the name of the ship" Shepherd said.

"I don't know their people's smuggling operations, but they must keep records of that in their base" he said. "I do have a pass card they gave me to bring my goods in. Well I had to return that one, so I made a copy"

"We'll be taking that" Tali said.

"What?! I need it for business" Pitne For said.

"And you need protection from the Eclipse, beggars can't be choosers" Kaiden said.

The volus sighed. "Take it…" He gave the team his pass card. "Just go the service elevator, on your right, it should take the base"

The team took the service elevator, the ride to the base was long and slow. Two years being dead, and they still haven't done anything about elevator speed. Shepherd almost had to smile; it was just like old times. "I'm worried about that Minagen stuff, their base has to be full of that stuff" Tali said. "You two be careful"

"We will, but maybe we use that stuff to our advantage" Kaiden said.

"Only one way to find out" Shepherd said.

Immediately outside the elevator a single LOKI Mech was waiting for them. Before it could attack Tali hacked the mech. Kaiden and Shepherd waited by the door, until Shepherd gave the signal and opened the door. Tali ordered the hacked mech to start firing on its allies and they responded in kind. Red clouds of dust came into the air. Past the door an Eclipse Vanguard and two LOKI Mechs charged in to attack.

"Kaiden, Stasis" Shepherd ordered.

Kaiden enveloped the vanguard in a stasis field along with the red cloud; Tali widened her targets and hacked the two mechs who then fired at their reinforcements. Shepherd used his singularity field to stop the reinforcements in their tracks; some of them fell off the ledge. The troopers that didn't get trap by the singularity field came in guns blazing. Tali summoned Chatika to shock the troopers and then she re-hacked the LOKI mechs to finish off the troopers. When Chatika expired, it exploded taking the mechs with it. After the battle was done, the vanguard was released from the stasis only scream incoherently in agony. Tears ran down her cheeks as her body convulsed in pain as she foamed at the mouth and then she went limp.

"Keelah…" Tali gasped. "That could happen to you and Kaiden"

"No wonder they're after him, this stuff is too much even for criminals" Kaiden said.

"Yeah, Kaiden activate your breather mask, we can't let this stuff get into our system" Shepherd ordered. Shepherd and Kaiden put on their masks and the team went on through the base. As they moved, Shepherd heard a whimper coming from the next room.

"Wayne?" Kaiden asked.

"Shh" Shepherd said as he opened the door. She heard a voice coming from the corner of the room.

"Oh, Goddess! Oh, Goddess, don't let them see me. If they see me, don't let them kill me. What am I doing here?" the voice whimpered.

"Come out, now" Shepherd said raising his gun. A young asari wearing Eclipse armor came out from the corner with her hands up. Her eyes held great fear, she didn't look like the merc type, she look like someone who stumbled up the Eclipse, still he had to be careful.

"Wait stop! I didn't fire my weapon once! I pretended to because the other Eclipse sister was watching, but I didn't really shoot" she said.

"You're in enemy uniform, kinda hard to miss" Shepherd said.

"I'm not one of them! I'm new! I thought being Elnora the mercenary would be cool, but I didn't know what they were like!"

"Somehow I doubt that" Tali said crossing her arms.

"What do they do here you don't like, Elnora?" Kaiden said.

"I thought we would be fighting around the galaxy fighting bad guys and stuff right?" She said. "But they, they just sell red sand and illegal weapons tech. They even smuggled an Ardat-Yakshi off-world."

"What's an Ardat-Yakshi?" Shepherd asked.

"It's something that was meant to be just a superstition, until now" she said. "It means 'demon of the night winds' the boss said that scary lady was one."

"Could she be the one Samara is after?" Tali asked Kaiden.

"Looks like it"

"Do you know what ship she left on?" Shepherd asked.

"Wow I have no idea, it was a few days ago and like I said I don't know. They didn't tell me anything."

Shepherd sighed. "This was a waste of time, come on" he said. As he turned, Elnora reached behind her and took out her shotgun.

"Wayne!" Tali said as she got out her shotgun. Shepherd looked back as Elnora was about to pull the trigger. "WAYNE!" They heard a shot and Elnora fell to the floor with a hole in her head. It was Kaiden who shot her.

"Thanks, man" Shepherd said. Kaiden nodded as he put away his pistol. The team moved on through the base fighting more mechs and Eclipse mercs. Despite their numbers, they mostly consisted of Sisterhood Initiates. Amateurs they didn't even bother to train, so they were mostly wiped out the team. Shepherd's team comes out on another docking bay on which a trio of LOKI Mechs fired at the team. Tali used her energy drain to turn one of the mechs into a empty husk. Kaiden overloaded the last two mechs to stun them and Shepherd curved his throw field and pushed the mechs off the ledge. Tali spoke up.

"I hear something…" Shepherd and Kaiden listened and heard a whirling sound. Then the whirling sound got louder, it was gunship. As soon as the team aimed for the gunship, the ship fired its missiles at team.

"Shit move!" The team fell back, as the gunship continued to fire at the team, they got to cover just as the ship dropped FENIR mechs. The dog-like mechs was going to try to flank them while the gunship tried to fire at them. Tali summoned her drone to divert the mech's attention away from them. Shepherd and Kaiden focused the gunship; they fired off warp fields to weaken its armor. The gunship just ignored it and kept firing making the team scatter; While running to new cover Shepherd aimed his pistol at the glass of the gunship and shattered it. Kaiden froze the pilot with his cryo blast; the gunship flew wildly in the air, hitting the sides of the docking bay. Finally the gunship fell out of the sky and crashed with a mighty thud. Tali's drone shocks and take down one of the FENIRS and Tali took out her shotgun and destroyed the last mech ending the battle. They made it to a room that was blocked by a strange volus that bumped into Shepherd.

"Well this is new" Shepherd said.

The volus glowed "I am a biotic god, I think things and they happen! Fear me, lesser creatures, for I am biotics made flesh" he looked at the team and raised his arm as he glowed. "Fear me!"

The quarian shook her head. "They pumped him so full of drugs, he's delusional" Tali said.

"Either that or he's just crazy" Shepherd said. "Who are you?"

"When I was mortal, I was called Niftu Cal, I was member of that fool's trade group" he said "poor soul is probably terrified that I have not returned."

"I doubt he's losing sleep, he seems like the type who would sell his own mother for a profit" Kaiden said.

"Bah! I will wreak a just revenge upon his people! But first…the leader of these mercenaries is in the next room" Cal said. "I will toss Wasea like a rag doll" As the volus continued to rant about his so-called godhood, Shepherd shook his head, all he could feel for the volus was pity, he was so out of it that he believed he could take out the rest of the Eclipse by himself.

"Or get tossed yourself, your too strung out to do shit" Shepherd said. "Why don't you take a nap?"

"I don't need rest, I will tear her apart! My biotics are unstoppable!" he said. Shepherd looked at his to companions and they shrugged. Shepherd sighed and tapped on the drugged volus. The volus fell with a soft thud. He got up looking dazed and confused, it may have finally gotten through that he didn't stand a chance. "But great wind, biotic god, I'm…I…What was I saying? I'm…tired, you may be right…yes…oh nap first…destroy universe later" Niftu Cal stumbled away.

Shepherd shook his head. "I'm too nice for my own good" he said in exasperation. Kaiden and Tali chuckled. "Come on"

The next area was a big room full of boxes and Minagen X3 containers. Inside was an asari with blue heavy armor and red markings on her face, drinking from a glass while reading data pad. She looked at the team as they walked in, ahe spoke.

"Everything's gone to hell since we smuggled that filthy creature off-world." She said. "First a justicar shows up and now you"

"Hmm, bad day that's rough, too bad I'm about to make it worse" Shepherd said.

Wasea smirked. "An arrogant little fuck, aren't you" she said. "I'm going to enjoy bringing you down a notch, while turn your head into a pulpy mass" She then threw a canister at the team, Shepherd and Kaiden canceled out her biotic field and the canister dropped to the ground. Wasea fired off warp field rupturing canister and causing it to explode. The explosion ripped opened the packages of Minagen X3 causing the field to turn into a sea of red.

"Get to cover" Shepherd ordered. Tali summoned her drone, Chatika, behind Wasea while Kaiden pounded her with warp fields.

"Wayne, reinforcements" Kaiden said. Several Eclipse Heavies and Sisterhood Initiates flooded in from both doors. The battle was chaos, canister, containers, and Minagen packages, due to the red dust, it made things much harder to shoot for both sides.

"Rookie" Shepherd said. Tali nodded and took out the Blackstorm projector on her back, while Shepherd took out his arch projector. Kaiden raised a barrier to protect them. They fired, the electrical shocks stunned and made the enemies heavy weapon blow up, while the black hole sucked in the enemies and cause an explosion, and made Wasea fall back.

"Shit" she cursed as she tried to throw a huge crate.

"No you don't" Kaiden said as enveloped the asari with a biotic field that ate at her. She screamed losing control of her biotics and the huge crate above fell on her, causing a sickening snap to her neck. The battle was over, and the team went to her dropped data pad.

"This must be the ship Samara was looking for" Tali said.

"Seems like, let's get out of here" Shepherd said. Shepherd and team went back to see Samara. She was next to the detective, mediating while Anaya was keeping a close eye on her albeit nervously. When she saw the team enter her office, her eyes soften no doubt happy to see them and hoping they had something to get the justicar out of her district

"Ah, Shepherd, you came back sooner than I thought" Samara said.

"I've got your ship, she left two days ago on AML Demeter" he said. "You're hunting a Ardat-Yakshi"

"Impressive, you have fulfilled your bargain and I will fulfill mine" Samara said. She looked at the detective. "I shall take my leave now that should satisfy your superiors"

"You're free to go, Justicar, it's an honor to meet you, even more since you didn't kill me" she said.

"I'll see you on the ship" Shepherd said. He then saw Samara bow to him. "What are you doing?"

"I must be sworn to your service, so that I am never forced to choose between your orders and the Code" She said as she started to glow. When she spoke it was deep, level. "I vow to follow you, Shepherd, until your quest is complete. Your morals are my morals. Your will is my Code."

"I never thought I'd thought to see a Justicar make an oath like that" the detective said.

"You're fortunate detective, not many get to see the oath of Summation" she said. She then gazed back at Shepherd. "If I am forced to do anything too dishonorable I will be forced to kill you when the mission is complete."

"I won't let that happen" Tali hissed.

Samara chuckled. "I believe I will not have any worries, your squad follows you loyally, especially your mate" she said. Tali blushed at the mention of the word mate. "It says a lot about your character, I will see you on the ship" Shepherd stayed a little longer on ground to give the detectives evidence to her investigations, he then moved to the trading floor, to see Liara. She was there at her desk working on the data she found.

"Oh Shepherd, w…what can I do for you?" She asked nervously.

"Relax, I just want to talk" he said. "I see your still working on the data"

"Yes, Nyxseris had quite the data mine, it will take while, before it can get me what I want" Liara said. She then lowered her head. "I'm sorry…."

"For what?" Shepherd asked with a smile. Liara looked at him.

"For keeping this a secret, for turning you over to Cerberus, for betraying you" she said sadly.

"Don't be, after talking to the others, and thinking about it, I should be thanking you" he said. "I got a second chance at life, I got to see everyone care about again, most people can't say that, so thanks"

"I…" was all Liara could say as tears ran down her cheeks. "Thank you; I don't deserve a good friend like you"

"No problem" he said with a smile. He then grew serious. "You still going to go after him, are you?"

Liara sighed. "Yes, I need to finish this for your sake and for mine" she said.

Shepherd nodded. "Alright, but when you find him, call us first, your friends are happy to help you"

"Thank you, I will" she said. Shepherd began to leave.

"Just one thing, don't become what you hate, I'm speaking from experience" Shepherd said looking back.

"I won't, I promise, and promise me you'll take care of Garrus, and tell him I love him" she said. "And I'm sorry for causing him pain"

"I will" Shepherd said. He walked away, leaving the lone asari to her hunt.


	27. Chapter 20: Angel of Feros

**Chapter 20: Angel of Feros**

Shepherd, Jacob and Miranda was in the conference room waiting for Samara to brief her on the mission. When the older asari came on board, she turned a lot of heads, for the women it was just how breathtakingly elegant she is and for the men, it was what Samara was wearing while the women glared at them for being 'pigs'. Samara on the other hand didn't care much, though living for centuries must have given her experience on dealing with the stares. Shepherd had to chuckle Samara was the exact opposite of Liara when she first came aboard. Samara came in and bowed at the three of them; Jacob went up to her and shook her hand, while Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Welcome to the Normandy, Samara. We studied your profile extensively" he said. "With your skills, you'll make an excellent addition to the team"

"Provided of course she can follow orders" Miranda said bluntly. "I hope your code won't be a problem" Jacob paled expecting Samara to be offended, but the older asari simply nodded.

"Do not worry, I have pledged myself to Shepherd's cause before I entered the ship, as long the cause is honorable and just there should not be a problem Ms. Lawson" Samara said. "And thank you Mr. Taylor, while I do not agree with your organization, I will be prepared for whatever we encounter"

"Kelly set up your quarters in the observation room" Shepherd said.

Samara nodded. "Ah room overlooking the great void, perfect for my meditations, you have my thanks" She left the room and Miranda started to walk out also. Jacob rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Commander, Miri can be a little blunt at times…"

"If you ask me, she needs a chill pill, I've never seen someone so up-tight" Shepherd said. "What does Miranda do for fun?"

Jacob scratched his head. "Well…she liked to dance when she was little kid, and she loved movies, but nowadays she eat, sleep, and live Cerberus" he said. "I've asked her to relax and don't be such a workaholic, but…."

Shepherd snapped his fingers. "A date!"

Jacob looked at him. "Commander?"

"You should ask Miranda on a date, maybe if she has some fun, she'll lighten up for once" Shepherd said. Jacob blushed.

"Ah…Commander…" before he could finish Shepherd's omni-tool beeped.

"Sorry, got to take this, why don't you think about it?" Shepherd said walking out. As he walked out Shepherd looked at who sent it and went out of to the port.

_**Nos Astra Dock**_

Shepherd went out to the café, and waits for someone and saw an asari approach him. An asari he recognized. It was Shiala T'soni, Liara's aunt and Benezia's younger sister; they met when Shepherd and his team were rescuing the colonists on the planet Feros from the sentient plant called the Thorian. At one point she served Saren, the ex-spectre that would go on to become a slave to Sovereign, a reaper. When she was saved, she decided to stay and help rebuild as a way to repent for what she's done. She smiles. "Hello commander"

"Shiala, hey there" Shepherd asked. "So how's Zhu's hope?"

"Fine, fine Shepherd, Zhu's hope has be growing well due the leadership of Julie and Lizbeth" Shiala said. "We've have built three to four settlements on Ferros"

"Great, and how about you?"

"I've been fine, I'm leader of a Militia, and we deal with threats from pirates or slavers" She said. Shepherd looked at her strange, she said everything was fine, but her body language said differently something he picked up from spending time with Tali. Something was wrong.

"Shiala, what's going on?" Shepherd asked bluntly. "This isn't a friendly visit…"The asari sighed and removed her gloves, Shepherd's eyes went wide. "Shiala, your arm is green…"

"Yes, thanks to the Thorian"

Shepherd frowned. The Thorian, a real nasty piece of work, with its mind-controlling and telepathic abilities, and a massive sensory network. It releases spores into the air that allow the Thorian to control those who inhale them, using pain to control their behaviour. These 'thralls' then tend to the Thorian and obey its will. ExoGeni the company funding the colony knew about its abilities and used the people as test subjects in their sick little science project. Shepherd and his team dealt with it two years ago, at least he thought so. "Is the Thorian…?"

Shiala shook her head. "No, you killed the Thorian two years ago, otherwise we would still be under its control, no this is a side-effect of the Thorian's death" she said. "The colonists began having headaches or muscle spasms, similar to what they experience while under the Thorian's control, when a colonist goes near a former Thorian victim, they could feel the victim's heat sensations or pain."

"The green skin is mine…and my biotics become unstable and uncontrollable and it is spreading…" she said. "We went to Baria Frontiers for treatment, but…"

Shepherd's brow went up. "But?"

"We should have read the fine print…when we set up the contract, we also signed for invasive, and potentially harmful medical tests."

"So you came to me, why not Liara? She's an info broker you know" Shepherd said.

"She guided me to you, saying you were the best person for this situation" She said. Shepherd groaned, Liara decided to dump her aunt's problem on his lap while she worked on finding the Shadow Broker.

"That girl…okay what do I have to do?" Shepherd asked. A moment later, Shepherd went to the Baria Frontier office, to look for an Erinya Koas, an asari who gave out the contract in the first place. He walked up to the asari.

"What do you want, human?" It could have been his imagination, but Shepherd could have sworn he heard the venom when she call him human.

"You talked to an asari earlier"

Erinya scoffed. "Oh her, the one working for the human colony" she said. "I will tell you, what I told her, if she didn't want that procedure she should have read the contract better"

"They were in pain, some were bedridden, and they were desperate so excuse me if they weren't in the liberty to read your damn contract" Shepherd said.

"Typical alien response, you come to us and then complain when it doesn't suit you" Erinya said. "I suggest you leave, your time is short enough, don't waste time bothering me"

Shepherd crossed his arms. "I got all the time in the world; I'm not leaving until you change the contracts"

"If the colonists weren't willing to abide by the contract, then they shouldn't have signed it"

Shepherd frowned. "Why insist on the tests? What value could they hold?"

"It's not your concern, human" Shepherd was starting to lose his patience; this asari's attitude was starting to get him. He took a deep breath, one wrong move and he could make everything worse.

"What's is your problem? I'm trying to be civil and you're making it hard"

Erinya glared at him, and Shepherd was taken aback, her eyes held great hatred for non-asari, but also great sadness. It was eerie, as it was similar to his eyes. "My problem?! My problem is you aliens, the galaxy would be a better place if nobody but the asari dragged themselves from the muck!" She said angrily. "The turians shooting everything in sight, the salarians unleashing the rachni and krogan on the galaxy, you humans thinking you can turn the galaxy into your damn playground, and the suit rats creating those monsters, the geth and who suffers for your stupidity, the asari, my people!" Shepherd was speechless, the pain in her eyes, it was just similar, it was his, because that's how he felt about the batarians, when they took everything from him.

"What happened? It sounds personal…" Tears ran from her eyes as she sat back in the chair in the corner.

"My bondmate, Natal and my daughter Oyra, both of them died on the citadel during the geth's attack. My bondmate's neck was snapped by a geth, while she was working her post at Citadel control" She said. "My daughter was horribly mutilated by Saren's krogan allies, when I saw her body I couldn't even recognize her face. She worked at the embassy, she was respectable member of society like her mother, and yet they were thrown away like trash" Shepherd lowered his head, another life ruined because Saren got to the citadel first. He sometimes forgot, that for every victory there is also loss, that affects somebody. "That is why aliens will never be an ally, all they can do is provide useful data"

"I'm sorry for your loss, I know your pain…" Shepherd said sadly.

"You know nothing human!" Erinya growled.

"Yes, I do, I'm from a small colony in the Traverse called Mindoir" Shepherd said. "The batarians attacked, they were making a slave run, and they killed everyone who resisted" The asari looked at him. "My family was a lot like yours, my dad was an engineer, mom was a teacher, my sister was only five years old and yet they too were also thrown away like trash"

"I could have become just like you hateful and bitter at the world, but my family what have become ashamed of what I became" he said. "So ask yourself this, would you want your bondmate and daughter sees you like this…willing to hurt others as much as you have been hurt?"

"I'm not…I didn't…oh…" Erinya slumped in her chair, with tears in her eyes. Shepherd offered his hand and pulled her up. "You're right human, they wouldn't…I'll send an amended contract, no more tests" She walked away. "There's enough grief in the galaxy…I don't need to add to it…"

"Thank you…"

Shepherd went back to Shiala, when he got there, she was bouncing on her feet happily. Erinya must have called her about the changes. "Shepherd, you did it, Baria Frontier sent us a new contract with no tests" she said. "Shepherd, you save Zhu's Hope, but I wonder is always like this? Old problems breeding new ones…isn't anything just fixed?"

"Sometimes, but you can make a difference, not everyone can"

Shila chuckled softly. "I suppose you're right, thank you Shepherd"


	28. Chapter 21: Memories

**Chapter 21: Memories**

It was a quiet day on the Normandy; Miranda was in her room writing a report to the Illusive Man about the Normandy crew's newest recruit, Samara. Although she was reluctant to admit it, she was quite impressed on how fast they were gaining more and more allies. Add that to the upgrades to the Normandy, and the mission through the Omega-4 Relay, didn't feel like so suicidal anymore. Shepherd may be lot of things, reckless, a naïve fool, and an ass, but the man was surprisingly efficient.

"Miri" Jacob said. Miranda looked at the door and he came in.

"What is it, Jacob?" she asked going back to her work.

"I've been thinking" he said.

"That's never good" she joked. Jacob snorted. "What is it?"

"I've been wondering… how would you like to go out with me?" He asked.

Miranda looked at him and blushed. "Uh…I..." she stammered at first. That was a surprise, Jacob's never been direct before, most of the time he was in the background going with the flow of things. She shook her head and regained her composure. "You're thinking about a date, while we're recruiting people for a possible suicide mission?"

"Um, yeah" he said rubbing his head.

"I can't, I have too much work to do and besides, I doubt Shepherd will agree to it" she said taking a sip of coffee.

"Actually, he said it was alright, he said it would help you be less of an ice queen" he said. Miranda spit out the coffee, when she heard that remark.

"That jackass said what?!" she said angrily. She didn't know why Shepherd was doing this to her, did he enjoy getting under her skin? Was this a big joke to him? Miranda stood up and began walking to the door. "I'm going to give that idiot a piece of my mind" Jacob came in front of her. "Move"

"No" Jacob said. "You may not like it, but he is right, Miri never smile anymore" Miranda looked at him. "You used to have a gorgeous smile when we were kids, what happen to that?"

Miranda looked away. "You know why. When I found out I was replaceable" she said sadly.

"Don't say that!" Jacob said. "You're not replaceable, you can never be replaced, Niket knows it, and I know it"

"I…Thank you" She said with a smile.

"That's the girl I remember" Jacob said with a smile. "So, you game?"

Miranda chuckled. "I guess, since you won't give up" she said "Let me get ready in couple of hours"

"Ok" he said with a smile.

Miranda spent the next three hours trying to find something to wear on her date. As she searched, she could but help remember that little boy that always used to follow her and Niket around, always wanting to join in any activity that they were doing.

Jacob and Niket were brothers that lived not far from the estate that Miranda lived at. She never had friends her own age before, she was always surrounded by grownups, either her tutors, or instructors, or her father's business associates. She was groomed to be the perfect lady, with the perfect manners, the perfect personality, and perfect everything. She had everything handed to her, while most people went through their whole lives trying to earn it; it was just there for her. Maybe that's why, Jacob and Niket were so special to her, because they were the first ones she chose, the first ones she earned, she will never forget the first time she met them.

_**Elysium-twenty years ago**_

_Ten year old Miranda just snuck away from her father's party, it was boring all they talked about was stocks and politics. She went down to her favorite spot, the lake not far from their house, it was so beautiful and peaceful, and she could stare at it for hours. She then heard a loud sound, it sounded like kids playing, she ran to the towards the sound and saw the source: two dark-skinned boys were playing in the lake, one was her age, he was wearing red and black swimming trunks and lot taller than the boy he was playing with, the other was darker than the older boy, he looked no more than seven and wearing grey and orange trunks._

"_Bet I can swim faster than you!" the younger boy said with a smile._

"_You're on!" The older boy said. As they were about to start their swimming contest, Miranda spoke up._

"_Um, hello" Miranda said meekly. The boys stopped and looked at Miranda, she felt small under their gaze, she had never talked to people her age before. According to her father, such things were below her and their position in society. Due to this, she was very shy when meeting new people. The younger one waved at her and they got out of the lake. "What are you doing?"_

"_Playing, what you are doing in those funny clothes?" he asked, All of a sudden, Miranda blushed and became self-conscious of herself; a tear started to flow from her eyes._

"_M-my clothes is funny? "She asked about to cry. Just then the older boy slapped him upside the head. The young boy held his head and glared at the older boy._

"_Ow, what was that for?" he asked._

"'_Cause you made a girl cry, dummy" the older boy said. He then came to Miranda and pat her on the head. "Don't cry, my brother didn't mean it" Miranda rubbed her eyes and looked at the boy._

"_Brother?" She asked. The older boy asked her if she could play, the younger boy happily jumped and the older boy followed._

"_You coming?" he asked. Miranda wasn't sure, she was thinking about her dress and how her father would react. She loved her father, but he could be very scary when he was angry, but seeing the younger boy laughing as he splashed around, it really looked like fun. All of a sudden the older boy pushed her in. Her dress was soak and wet._

"_Hey!" She said. The older boy jumped in, and splashed more water on her. He laughed with the younger boy joining in. Miranda really wanted to be mad, she couldn't help it and joined in the laughter. They played for hours, as it turned out she was the best swimmer out of the three of them, beating them in the race she joined. Miranda never had so much fun before, but then the fun was over when she heard one of the maids yell her name; it was Lenteia, her asari nanny looking for her. Miranda sighed. "I should be going" she said as she got out of the lake._

"_Wait" the older boy said. "What's your name? We want to play with you again"_

"_Miranda, Miranda Lawson" she said. "What's yours?"_

"_I'm Niket Taylor, this is my little brother, Jacob" he said with a smile. "See you later, Miri"_

_She walked back to Lenteia, with a smile on her face._

She smiled at the memory, she hadn't thought about those days in forever. It was one of the few happy memories that she had of her childhood. She picked out her dark red dress with black high-heeled boots and went to meet Jacob on the bridge. As she walked to the bridge, the crew started at her, especially the male crew members, it was something she was used to. She then bumped into Kaiden and Kasumi.

Kaiden's eyes went wide. "Wow…Miranda, you look incredible" he said. Kasumi raised a brow.

"I thought you liked men" she said with a smirk.

"Doesn't mean I can't complement the opposite sex" he said with a shrug. Kasumi chuckled.

"Good luck on your date, Miranda, you do know you just took the second hottest man off the market right?" Kasumi asked. Miranda raised a brow.

"Second? There's a ranking?" She asked.

"Yeah the top five, Jackson is number five, Garrus is number four, I'm number three, Jacob is Number two, and Wayne is number one." He said.

"Not to mention, the hottest girl on the ship is off the market also" Kasumi said. "The guys will be disappointed"

"Fine by me, I don't need the competition" Kaiden joked with a laugh.

Miranda snorted at such childishness, they were a warship, not a teen magazine. "Ridiculous" she muttered as she walked away.

"Go easy on him" Kasumi said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up" she said blushing. "Goddamned idiots" She came on the bridge and saw Jacob in blue jeans with dark boots and a tight grey buttoned shirt, which showed off his muscles quite well. Jacob saw her and blushed.

"Um, you look beautiful" he said with a flushed face.

"Thank you" she said blushing. The first place they went to was a movie; they saw an old movie from the 20th century, called Titanic, a movie that Miranda enjoyed, but Jacob not so much. They then went to the club, but they couldn't enjoy it because Miranda was getting hit on a lot from men and Jacob was having the same problem with women. Seeing all those women hitting on Jacob made her blood boil, she got up and grabbed Jacob's and pulled him out of the club.

"Um, maybe the club was a bad idea" Jacob said sheepishly.

"Yeah" She said curtly. Jacob chuckled and Miranda looked back and saw him smirking. "What?"

"You know if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous" he said.

Miranda scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous" she said crossing her arms.

"Then why did drag me out of there, while giving those girls the evil eye"

Miranda blushed. "Because!" She said.

"Because?" Jacob asked. Their face became close to each other, if she wanted to she could have kissed him right then and there. She knew there was something there between them, ever since they met up again four years ago during the Jath'Amon incident. She could see herself being happy with Jacob, but with her duty to Cerberus, it would be impossible. _'A stupid dream, father made sure of that'_ she thought bitterly.

Miranda sighed. "Nothing" she said pulling away. Jacob pulls her towards him. "What are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that" he said. "Why is it when I try to be close to you, you put up this wall? You know we care for each other, ever since that day…"

"Jacob, I keep telling you….this could never be" She said. "Because of Cerberus and this mission…"

"Because of your father" he said. She looked at him and lowered her head. He was very good at reading her, he always been.

"Yeah" she said sadly.

He sighed, "Does it always have to come back to your father?" he asked.

"Everything I am is because of him, everything, I'm just a doll he created for his legacy" she said close to tears. "To him that makes me, less than nothing"

"Is that why you work so hard, for Cerberus, for this mission?" Jacob asked sadly. Miranda didn't answer she just nodded as tears ran down her cheeks. Jacob tenderly kissed her forehead and held her tight as she cried. "You're not a thing, you are the same special girl, I met when we were kids, and you'll always be special to me, Miri"

After she calmed down, Miranda and Jacob went back to the Normandy. "Thank you for the date, and I'm sorry for the waterworks" she said with a small smile.

"Don't be, it was nice see an emotion, that wasn't annoyance or anger for once" he said with a smile. "Night, Miri" Jacob made his way to his quarter.

"Jacob" she said. He looked back at her. _'Just say it you idiot girl' _"W-we should do this again sometime" _'Coward'_ Jacob smiled and walked away. When she was by herself, she smiled a sad smile.

"I love you" she whispered.

_**The Miranda and Jacob pairing will continue into Mass Effect 3, the relationship with Brynn and Jacob never happens in my story, so the rescue Cerberus scientists mission will play out differently.**_

_**Review and Comment…**_


	29. Chapter 22a: The Assassin pt1

**Chapter 21a: The Assassin pt.1**

_Thane Krios_

_-Quick-kill biotic specialist_

_-Expert sniper_

_Thane Krios is a drell trained from childhood as an elite assassin, proficient in both long-range sniping kills and close infiltration. He has slowed his activities in recent years but is rumored to have a target on Illium.-Codex_

Shepherd went down to the Crew deck to see Miranda, he wanted to see if the rumors were true, that the ice queen of the Normandy was defrosted. Shepherd crept his head around the corner; there she was eating her food. Nothing yet, but then when one the crew walked passed she…smiled at them. Shepherd blinked, he couldn't believe it; Miranda was actually smiling, usually the most you can expect from Miranda was the smug smirked, the annoyed scoff or one of her favorites the glare of doom. He had to test the waters to be sure, Shepherd walked towards her.

"Hey Miri" Shepherd said with a smile. Miranda glared at him. '_Ok a little thawed, not defrosted_.' "What's with the evil eye?"

"What did you call me?" she asked.

Shepherd rubbed his head. "Uh, Miri" he said sheepishly.

"Don't" She said. Shepherd smirked.

"I see, so only Jacob can call you that" he said.

Miranda rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Are you here to just aggravate me?" she asked annoyed. And just like that she was back to normal.

"Just came to see if you had a good time, with Jacob" Shepherd said.

Miranda blushed and went back to eating. "Why do you care? I'm Cerberus" She said.

"Yeah, you are, but you're also a member of my crew, and your ass is on the line as much as mine" Shepherd said. "I may not trust Cerberus, but I can at least say I trust you" Miranda looked at him.

"I…Thank you, I may not agree with you methods, but I can at least respect it" she said. Shepherd nodded. "Why did you allow me and Jacob to go on that date?"

"Hey, everyone needs a break once in a while, and a little bird told me you needed to break you of your workaholic habit" he said. "Life's too short, after all" He walked away to start the next mission.

The team made it to the shipping lane, to meet with the contact. It was time to meet up with his last recruit. Shepherd had chosen Zaeed and Samara to come along, he really wanted to see what a justicar could in battle and Zaeed for support. They approached a purple asari typing at her terminal.

"Seryna?" Shepherd asked.

"Who wants to know?" she said. _'Feisty, I like it'_

"A Spectre" he said. "I need info on a drell assassin, Thane Krios"

She looked over to her co-worker. "Tana. Cover for me" she said. "Walk with me, we can talk" They walk to the cabs. "Yeah I know Krios, I passed him some info, but I didn't hire him. What do you want to know?"

"Where is he, for one?" Zaeed asked.

"I can tell you, but you won't stop him. When he contacted me, I checked on him. The man never gives up on the hunt" she said. "I ran security for Nassana Dantius, until I found out she was having people killed to cover up her secrets"

Shepherd palmed his face. "That bitch again"

Seryna raised a brow. "So, you know of her?"

_**Two years ago**_

_Shepherd went back to the Citadel to face Nassana, the mission was a hoax, a glorified assassination mission to eliminate her sister from ruining their family. And Shepherd fell for it hook, line, sinker; he felt angry, but mostly at himself he should've never agreed to the mission, he was so emotional that he forgotten that not all people could be trusted. A mistake that will not happen again, he made it to the Citadel Lounge, and there was Dantius, sitting smugly and sipping her tea._

_Shepherd approached her. "You conniving little bitch!" Shepherd growled._

_"Whatever do you mean, Shepherd?" Nassana asked._

_"Don't play dumb, we know that Dahlia was a pirate, and that you wanted her gone" Tali said._

_Nassana smiled smugly. "And so the truth comes out, it's not personal, but I couldn't let Dahlia ruin us"_

_"But she was your sister!" Shepherd said._

_Nassana scoffed. "And? Do you know how many sisters I have within my clan?" she asked. "Enough where losing one won't make a difference, as long as the family apparatus is intact"_

_"Now here a little something for your 'support'" She went into her omni-tool and pressed some buttons. "I hope to do business with you in the future"_

"Yeah, and know her sister too…if you know what I mean…" he said.

"I heard about that, I knew her sister's death was no accident" she said. "So she's just getting what she deserve"

"An assassin that kills the unjust, truly the galaxy loves irony" Samara said.

"You worked there, any idea what the opposition is like?"

"Eclipse mercs, hi-tech killers, undisciplined, but well-equipped. They don't care who they kill as long as they get paid."

"A bunch of stupid kids with shiny toys, I almost feel bad for them" Zaeed said.

"Thane will still have a reception waiting for him. He didn't seem worried."

"Most professionals don't"

"Where is he? I need to get there" Shepherd said.

"Dantius towers, I know the area, so I can get you there"

"Why help us?" Samara asked.

"I owe Thane, that bitch killed a lot of my friends, because her paranoia" she said. "Plus, I feel like I can trust you"

Shepherd and team had to wait until night that was when the security at the tower was the most lax. The cab made its way to the Dantius Towers; Illium was different sight at night, with cars flying through the air, it was truly alive more so than any time of the day. The cab joined with the traffic. "The towers are heavily guarded and you find more resistances closer to the pent house"

"More fun for me" Shepherd said with a smirk.

"Hmm" Seryna said. The cab turned to the right, and there was Dantius Towers, just like most of the buildings in the Illium it stood as a monument to the wealth and power of the elites of the galaxy. Seryna scoffed." Home sweet home; get up to the second tower and cross the bridge to get to the penthouse"

"Got it, set her down" The cab was sat down on the pad and the team got out. Shepherd looked up, the tower was huge, and with so many floors it would be tough looking for Thane. From what he read, Thane was a master infiltrator that specialized in quick and clean kills; get in and out without being seen. Meaning he won't appear unless he wants to, which meant they had to get to Dantius first or at least try to.

"One more thing, there are no automatic defenses and traps, just focus on anything moving" Shepherd nodded.

"Incoming" Zaeed said. The squad quickly runs into a bunch of security mechs chasing panicked salarian construction workers. Two of them turn their way. Shepherd shoots the glass and Samara pulls them while Zaeed shoots them apart with his assault rifle. Shepherd freezes the LOKI mech and threw it against the wall. The team went in and checked the bodies.

"Such a waste" Samara said as she shook her head.

"Nassana was always a ruthless bitch" Shepherd said. "But this is just pointless slaughter"

"Shepherd, we got a live one" Zaeed said. Samara and Shepherd walked to Zaeed and saw a fallen salarian bleeding greatly. "He ain't going to last much longer" He patched him up with medi-gel and helped him up.

"Thank you" he said. He looked at the dead salarians and over to them. He kneeled over them and said a little prayer in the salarian language.

"Why would Nassana do this?" Shepherd asked.

"I don't know, we were just night workers coming in for work, and then we saw them, and then the shooting started" the worker said. "My friends…all gone…"

"Without warning?" Samara asked.

"She wanted us rounded up, the mercs said there was no time, and so she ordered them to wipe us out, my friends were jumping of ledges just to escape the dogs" he said. "Everyone screaming….please find the other workers"

"I will" Shepherd said. "You should get out of here" The worker left. Zaeed went to the door controls. The team went through the door and took cover. LOKI and FENRIS mechs made up the bulk of the opposition. Shepherd launched the mechs with his Singularity field, while Samara blew them away with her throw. Zaeed loaded his disrupter ammo and gave sniper support, he fired on the mercs, stripping them of their shields. He then got out a small orange spherical object and threw it at them. The merc screamed in agony as he lit up like a bondfire, more of them came around the cover, firing at the team. They went to cover, Samara pulled them of their feet and Zaeed threw more inferno grenades. Shepherd sent out his warp field and the pull field exploded sending them flying. When it was done, they reached the ramp at the end of the level and went to the second the second level they could hear some of the mercs talking.

"Hey, I think he went in here" one of them said.

"We go get him" a female voice said.

The man scoffed. "You go"

"Get your ass in there, Nassana's not paying you to stand around"

"Fine…but I…" The then heard a shot.

"What the…" the woman said. Another shot was heard as the team went out in the open. They found two blue suns mercs on the ground with holes in their hands. Zaeed bent down and checked the bodies.

"Looks like our man was here" Zaeed said. "Killed by Shredder, guy knows how to pick his ammo" More enemies came to see what the noise was.

"Zaeed, admire his carnage later" he said pulling out his Hydra. As the mercs came around the corner, Samara and Zaeed pushed them back with a concussive shot and biotic throws. Shepherd pulled the trigger and multiple missiles flew at the enemies' direction. The mercs were blown back by the explosion. A vanguard came up pass them, reinforced by LOKI mechs, Zaeed loaded his disrupter ammo into his assault rifle and went to town on the mechs. The vanguard threw a warp field the justicar, but Samara just causally knocks it away and countered with her throw and knocked him of the ledge. Samara got the door and in it were more Salarian workers.

"Please don't shoot! We'll go" one of them said.

"Hey look, they're not Eclipse" another one said. "Are you here to help us?"

"It's one reason I'm here, come out. It's safe enough" Shepherd said.

They bowed. "Thank you we're in your debt"

"I'm looking for someone, not a merc, he's on his own" Zaeed said.

"You must be talking about the drell" he said. "After he killed those two mercs, he locked us in here"

"The assassin wanted you safe, how strange" Samara said.

"Assassin?" one of the said.

"Here for Nassana I see, she's got it coming"

"Strange or not that's our man" Shepherd said. "You should go; it's safer in the lower levels"

"Thank you, you can use the cargo elevator, it's the quickest up to the penthouse" he said. "But be careful, since they're still working there are no walls or railings and the winds are strong"

"Thanks for the info" Shepherd said. They all walked out.

"Oh, tell your assassin friend to aim for the head, because she doesn't have a heart" Shepherd nodded. They came to the service elevator; the wait was slow for it to come. Shepherd saw Zaeed restless.

"What's with you, old man?"

"We should get cover now" he said.

"Why?"

"Just a feeling" he said.

The team went to cover as the elevator reached their floor. Shepherd was thankful for Zaeed's sixth sense, as a krogan Bounty Hunter and two Eclipse Engineers will come out of the elevator. Zaeed threw a grenade at the bounty hunter as Shepherd and Samara focused on the two engineers. Krogan charge at the team, Shepherd stopped him with a Stasis field and Samara finished it with a biotic throw. The engineers summon their drones to flank Zaeed and Shepherd while they focused on Samara. The drones were quickly dealt with, Zaeed and Shepherd went to help Samara and already found the asari killing the last merc. The team went up to the next floor. They exit the elevator to find an Eclipse Trooper communicating with his superiors. They sneak up to him; he didn't seem to notice the team's movement.

"I haven't heard from teams four or five "He said. "Don't worry, my team is always ready, I don't where he is, but I'll find him" He snorted. "We won't need any reinforcements, we got this"

"Do you now?" Shepherd said raising his weapon. "Turn around slowly"

He turned around slowly. "Damn it"

"I got a proposition for you, you tell your men to stand down and I won't test if you can fly or not" He said. "The choice is yours, chose wisely"

"Fuck you!" he growled "You think you scare me?"

"Yes" he simply said. Shepherd smashed the merc through the window. It was a very long drop from where they were and the spectre was the only thing keeping him from falling.

"Screw you, even if you kill men, my men will take you down…" The merc said. Although the man didn't show it, there was great fear in his eyes.

"Wrong answer" Shepherd dropped him quickly, the man started to scream until he found himself in a biotic field and this time a little further from the building. If Shepherd decided to drop him this time, there would be no catching the next time. "Tell me, is it worth it? Is Nassana? If I were you, I would talk fast, you're getting heavy…" A lie really, thanks to Cerberus' upgrades he could hold him as long as he wanted with his biotics, but apparently it was a lie that worked as the merc quickly shook his head. "Good boy" He threw the merc back into the building and opened his comm.

"No sight of him on this floor, move on" he said. He looked at Shepherd.

"Leave, now" he said. The merc ran to the elevator. "Let's move"

The team went up to the second tower to meet up with Thane and Nassana.


	30. Chapter 22b: The Assassin pt2

**Chapter 21b: The Assassin Pt.2**

Shepherd and team made it to the next floor. As they walked towards the door, Shepherd stopped the team and they heard talking in the other room, he recognized one of the voices, it was Nassana.

"He's all over the place" the merc said.

"What do you mean?" Nassana asked annoyed.

"We've got reports of him on multiple levels. We think he's traveling through the ducts"

"I'm not paying to think. Just find him. Now!"

From the sound of her voice, Nassana was getting scared, Thane must be getting close. If the assassin gets to her first, they could lose their chance to recruit him. Shepherd gave the order to stand –by to the team, he then opened the door. The mechs activated, but Samara blasted the explosive containers lessening their numbers.

"What the…?" Before the eclipse merc could react, Shepherd gunned him down with his SMG. Around the corner an Eclipse biotic, came in close to Samara, but was shut down by Zaeed's sniper rifle. More reinforcements flooded the room, firing at the team, they took cover.

"They're persistent" Samara said.

"Nassana must be paying them a fortune, if they're willing to throw their lives away" Shepherd said.

"She needs to get her money back" Zaeed said. He went out of cover and threw an inferno grenade at the mercs. Samara pushed them off ledges with a biotic throw. Shepherd used his singularity to lift them up, and a warp to detonate it. Just then a rocket hit the team's cover, destroy it and scattering the team, ten rocket drones flew overhead firing at them as they ran to cover.

"Fucking drones" Shepherd cursed. "Samara, help me with them" the justicar nodded and blast the drone with her biotics, Shepherd overloaded several drones and they fell on the floor. Zaeed mowed down the mercs with more grenades. Shepherd got his Hydra and fired at the remained mercs still alive. Once the Eclipse Mercs were dealt with the team went on their way, they heard sounds coming from the door on their left. Shepherd went over to the door, Samara and Zaeed had their guns ready as Shepherd unlocked the door. The door opened, and a terrified salarian was pointing a pistol at them.

"Stay back" he said frantically. "Get back or I'll shoot"

"Easy there, lad, don't something you're going to regret" Zaeed said.

The salarian shook his head and pointed his gun between them. "I don't want to hurt you…but I will. I said get back! I'll do it!" Whatever Nassana's thugs did to them, it traumatized the gun wielding salarian. Shepherd could easily take him down, but he would rather not escalate the matter. Shepherd put away his gun, and gesture Zaeed and Samara to put their away also.

"Easy, we're not the mercs that hurt you, just put the gun down" Shepherd said. "We're here to get you out of here"

The salarian lowered his gun. I…I don't…feel so good" he said collapsing on the floor. Another salarian came to his side. Samara and Zaeed raised their weapon, but Shepherd raised his hand to stop them, the salarians weren't a threat.

"Telon" he said. "Please, he's my brother. I just want to see if his alright" he then looked at Shepherd's squad. "Are you the one's…who shot that merc?"

Shepherd looked back at the dead merc. "Nope, it wasn't your brother?"

The worker shook his head. "No, Telon was with me"

"What happened here?"

"The mercs found us and shouted for us to move. We panicked and he shouted more" he said. "I thought he was going to kill us, but….his head just exploded. Telon picked up the mercs gun, but we were too afraid to leave. Then you showed up"

"Our man has one hell of an eagle eye" Zaeed said. "I'm impressed"

"Was it the same guy we were looking for?" Shepherd asked.

"Telon thought he saw something, but he's been on…edge"

"Ok, the lower floors should be safe" Shepherd said. "You might want to go"

"Of course" the salarian said "Telon, come on…get up" The salarian helped his brother up, Telon held his head.

"Can we go home now?"

"Yeah, we're getting out of here" he said. "Thank you" Shepherd nodded as the salarian went down to the lower level. Shepherd and team took the time to refresh their supplies, they were close to the top, and once they started there would be no going back.

"We're almost there" Samara said. "Our enemies will be there in force"

Shepherd cracked his neck. "I hope they bought a lot of body bags"

When they were ready, the team walked to the bridge and the roof, the com was still open as Nassana was talking."Where is everyone?!" She asked frantically. "Will someone give me a report?!" Shepherd pressed the com button. "It's about time! What's going on down there?"

Shepherd smirked. "I'm afraid your men aren't able to respond, Nassana"

"Damn it!"

The bridge to Tower One was a long narrow walkway that was ideal for sniper rifles or assault rifles. There was the usual assortment of Eclipse mercenaries and mechs. The wind was pounding relentlessly against the bridge, one good push and it would be a long drop. It was perfect for Shepherd. The final walk began, as they stepped on the bridge, rocket drones start firing at them signaling another fight. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift the mercs while the wind carried his weightless enemies. Samara threw the mechs of the bridge, while Zaeed dealt with the rocket drones.

"We've got them on the run" Shepherd said yelled.

He blasted an explosive crate causing even more mercs to fly. Zaeed stopped the vanguards cold with sniper fire. Samara gunned more mechs down. Once they have cleared the bridge of enemies, they got into cover at the end of the bridge because of the next wave on the upper level of the bridge leading to Tower One's penthouse. Shepherd wiped them out with the last of his Hydra's missiles. They went up the stairs as an Eclipse Commando waited, as the last barrier to Nassana's Penthouse. Samara pulled the woman out of cover as Shepherd and Zaeed shot her in the head with their pistol. The last opposition was out-of-the-way, the team entered Nassana's Penthouse.

Once inside, the few remaining Eclipse mercs, tending to Nassana raises their weapons. Nassana turned around with wide eyes."Shepherd? Y-You're dead!" Shepherd smiled darkly, looking down the sights of his pistol at her, the shocked expression on her face worth more than a thousand words.

"I got better, though you probably should be worried more about yourself" he said "Given the circumstances"

"Wait" she said oddly calm. "Before you kill me, tell me who hired you"

"The ghost of your dead sister"

"Screw you!" She growled.

"Charming as ever I see" Shepherd said with a smirk.

"If you're going to kill me, kill me, I'm not playing your damn games" she said. "You made it this far, what now?"

"I'm not here to kill you" he said.

She slammed her fist on her desk."Don't screw with me! What other reason you have for destroying my tower? Decimating my security?" Nassana asked.

The spectre crossed his arms. "I'm looking for someone, your guys just got in my way, nothing more and nothing less" Shepherd said. "Besides, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead, not shooting the shit with me"

"You expect me to believe that?" she asked. "Is it credits? Is it that what you want? Just tell me your price"

Shepherd laughed hard as Nassana's guards looked at each other nervously. Nassana was taken aback; Shepherd composed himself, wiping the tear from his eye. "That would be insulting, if it wasn't so damn funny" he said. "Stupid girl, you think a couple of credits are going to make the target on your head disappear?"

"Bastard, you think you can make a fool of me?!" She asked angrily. "ME?! NASSANA FUCKING DANTIUS?!"

Shepherd then heard a small thud above him and smirked. "I'm just humoring you, it's the least I can do, since…"

A green slim form dropped soundless behind one of the guards.

"You're…"

The newcomer's movements were swift but controlled, hands grasping chin and head, the snap of a neck filling the silence until a second guard made a sound of alarm.

"Going..."

A single shot from his pistol and the other collapsed.

"To..."

Dantius whirled to face the attacker, snatching a pistol up from her desk, only to find him inches from her. Her eyes went wide as she saw his weapon pressed just beneath her breastbone.

"Die."

One more shot and the asari jerked, the assassin releasing his weapon and catching her, eased her gently on the desk. He clasped his hand together, in silent prayer.

"That's our guy? Guddamn impressive" Zaeed said.

"'Bout time you got here, I was getting tired of talking to her" Shepherd said. The assassin didn't answer, and stayed in the same position. "You know, praying for her is pointless, where she's going, it means jack shit"

"It's not for her, it's for me" he said as he put away his gun. He looked at Shepherd, walking slowly towards him, no doubt cautious with the formerly dead spectre, the veteran bounty hunter, and the justicar. Three opponents he weren't sure he could defeat. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you for instance, all this destruction…chaos"

"What's your point?"

"I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me." Thane said. "Well…here I am"

"You expected me, good then I can get the pleasantries out-of-the-way" he said. "I'm here to recruit you for a mission, against the Collectors"

"I've heard of them" he said. "Attacking the collectors would require passage through the Omega-4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so"

"That's what they said about Ilos, and I intend to prove them wrong again" Shepherd said with a smirk.

Thane chuckled lightly. "Well you're certainly confident, maybe that's enough" he said. Thane then became serious and turned his back to them, looking at the sunrise peeking through Nassana's former office. "This was to be my last mission, I'm dying, low survival odds don't concern me, but the abduction of you colonists does"

"I'm sorry…" he said.

"Don't be" Thane said. "Giving me this opportunity is enough, the universe is a dark place, I'm trying to make it brighter, before I die" he lowered his head. "Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that." He then shook Shepherd's hand.

"I will work for you Shepherd. No charge"

On the Normandy, Shepherd introduced Thane to the Normandy crew; everyone seemed receptive to the new member, except Jacob. "I've heard impressive stories, Krios. Sounds like you'll be an asset to the team." He said with crossed arms. He looked at Shepherd. "That is if you're comfortable with an assassin watch your back"

"I've accepted a contract. My arm is Shepherd's" Thane said.

"Uh-huh. Don't know about you, but I'm loyal to more than my next paycheck" he said.

"Obviously he is too. He's doing the mission for free, so what's the problem?" Shepherd asked.

"I don't like mercenaries. An assassin is just a precise mercenary"

"An assassin is a weapon. A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields it does" Thane said. "Where should I put my things? I'd prefer someplace dry, if it is available"

EDI appeared. "The life support room, is dryer that the rest of the ship." To Thane's credit, he did not seem faze at the sight of an AI, most were when they first came on.

"Ah. An AI. My thanks" he said. He bowed at the two men, and left the room.

"He seems quite civil" she said.

"He quite different for an assassin, give him a chance, he might surprise you"

"Maybe, but then again maybe not" Jacob said leaving the room.

Hours later, Jacob went to see Miranda on the new member of the team. Jacob never had a problem's with bounty hunters, or vigilantes, at least with them they were taking the scum of the galaxy out of play. Mercs and Assassins they were different, one minute they're one your side and the next your they're target. To be fair the same could be said about bounty hunters, but you'd have to screw up royally for someone to hire a bounty hunter. Maybe he wasn't the one to talk, after all he was with Cerberus, a known terrorist group, but he like to hope for every evil thing the organization does, there is some good too.

"Miri, are you here?" he asked. He came in and saw her on the couch staring at a dating pad. "Miri?"

"Huh?" She looked distracted, which was not like her. Miranda's always been on the ball, something was wrong. Jacob walked up to her and kneeled down in front of her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. Her hands were shaking and Jacob put them in his. He looked in her eyes, she was scared. "Miri?"

"It's my sister, Jacob, he found her!" she said distressed. "My father found her!"

His eyes went wide. "We need to speak with Shepherd"


	31. Chapter 23:The Prodigal&the Brothers pt1

**Chapter 22: The Prodigal and the Brothers Pt. 1**

_**Elysium-Fifteen years ago**_

_It was pouring that day, it was what she remembered about that day…Miranda was running, more than she's ever done before, she was tired…so very tired, but she had to keep going. She ducked into a ditch just under a bridge, just above her were the bad men, her father hired to capture her. In her arms, a little bundle stirred in her arms, a little girl awake from her nap, she fussed about to cry. Miranda cradled her softly. "Shh…" she said gently. The girl settled down and went back to sleep._

"_Damn it, where is she?!" The leader asked._

"_I don't know, she just disappeared…" one of her men said._

"_Shit, find her! Mr. Lawson is going to have my head if we don't find her, and if that happens I'll have yours!" The leader growled. "Find her now!"_

"_Sir!" The footsteps went away, it was loud at first and then they became softer and softer until she couldn't hear them anymore. She was safe, for now, but she was over her head, she needed help. She set the little girl on the ground next to her, careful not to wake her and opened her omni-tool._

"_Hello?"_

"_Jacob? Where's Niket?"_

"_Miri?"_

"_Where is Niket?"_

"_He's at work, Miri, what's up?" Miranda looked around, hoping the bad men would not come back, they weren't it was safe to talk._

"_Jacob, meet me at the abandon mine, hurry"_

"_Miri, you're scaring me, what's wrong? Are you in trouble?" _

"_Please, Jacob I'll explain everything, just please hurry…"_

_Jacob sighed. "Okay" Miranda took the girl up in her arms, and held her close to her body as she continued evading the bad men. _

_**Now**_

Jacob and Miranda went to see Shepherd in his quarters, on getting his help with Miranda's sister. Although, Shepherd had said that he trust them, they were still not so sure, they were members of a terrorist group after all. Miranda knocked on the door, Shepherd had made it so that only Tali, Garrus, Kaiden, and Kasumi were allowed to walk in and out of his quarter with no problems, the rest had to knock. An annoyance, but she knew it was a trust issue, in his shoes she would have done the same thing.

"Commander, may we come in?" Miranda said.

Shepherd got out his bed carefully as to not wake Tali and went to the door. "Miranda, Jacob? What's this about?" Shepherd asked.

Miranda looked at Jacob and he nodded. "Shepherd, I find myself in an unpleasant situation, I need your help" she said humbly.

Shepherd looked back at the sleeping Tali. "Ok, but not here I don't want to disturb Tali" The three of them went to Miranda's quarters to talk. Jacob and Miranda sat on the couch. "Ok, what's this about?"

"My sister, she's been found by my father" she said.

"Ok, and this bad how?" Shepherd asked.

"My father is not what you would call a great man; he gave me anything I wanted, but only to make sure his legacy was up to his standards" she said.

"His legacy? What do you mean?" Shepherd asked.

Miranda took a deep breath, she's never told anyone the story about her, the only one who knew was Jacob, Niket, and Cerberus. It wasn't easy for Miranda to get the words out, it was too painful, she felt hands on her, and it was Jacob giving her an assuring nod. "In reality, I don't have a mom or a dad" she said sadly. "I'm a designer baby, all the of the traits I have, my looks, my reflexes, and my biotics were picked out for me, like parts from a catalog"

"So reason you're called perfect is because…"

"I was designed that way, yes, my father didn't want a daughter, he wants a dynasty" She said solemnly. "When I became older, I found out I had sisters, and when they didn't meet his standards, they were disposed of, like trash" As Jacob listened to the pain in Miranda's voice, he clenched his fists in anger, he remembered that day all too well, all he could think about was how could a father cause so much pain to his own daughter. Apparently, Shepherd felt the same way.

"Bastard" he growled.

"That was also the same day I found out about my sister, Oriana, she…was to be my successor" she said. "That was when, I decided to run away, and I took Oriana with me"

"Miri came to me to help hide her sister" Jacob said. "She went to a real nice family on our home colony, Elysium, after she was safe; I and my brother went to help her run"

"My father was pissed, He spent a fortune hiring mercs and bounty hunter to find me, so for most of my teenage years I was on the run until I was eighteen, that's when I met the Illusive man and Cerberus" she said. "They were quite impressed with my abilities and knowledge, so in return for my loyalty, they said they would protect my sister and her family, she had a normal life, something I never had"

"But her father, somehow found her and hired mercs to help him"

"Do you know who they are?" Shepherd asked.

"No, but Lenteia does, she's an asari maid that used to work for my family, she's also a former Huntress, so she's very good at gathering info" Miranda said. "We're to meet her at a bar on Illium"

"Ok, let's go then" Shepherd said.

_**Elysium-Fifteen years ago**_

_Jacob arrived at the old mine on the outskirts of Illyria, the capital of Elysium. An dust eezo mine, from when Elysium first gotten settled, it was at the time the largest planet for mining eezo along with Eden Prime and Therum and responsible for the rise of mass effect technology that the Alliance were developing, no longer they would rely on tech from the council. But for Jacob it was something special, it was special playing spot for them when Niket, Miranda, and himself were younger, the grown-ups had said that the mines were too dangerous, but they didn't believe them, after all nothing happened to them. Jacob looked around for Miranda and saw her sitting down on a rock hold in a bundle in a white cloth; she was cradling it, being very gentle with it._

"_Miri…"_

"_Jacob, thank god you're here…" Miranda said. "I need your help…" She revealed the bundle, and it was little girl no younger than a year old. Jacob looked at her. "This is my sister, Orianna, I need your help to hide her" Jacob eyes went wide, for as long as he known her, she had been an only child. He was about to speak, but Miranda stopped him. "I'll explain later, but first I need to get Ori to safety…"_

_**Now **_

The team went to the Eternity Bar to meet with Miranda's contact. In the next room, was an asari was waiting for them. A dark purple asari in a tan pants with a black shirt and white vest. When everyone was there, she closed the door and everyone took their seats.

"Ms. Lawson, Mr. Taylor I'm glad you made it. We've had a complication" Lenteia said. She gazed at Shepherd. "Ma'am, who is this?"

"This is Commander Shepherd, my commanding officer, he's agreed to help" Miranda said. "What do you mean complications? Is Oriana ok?" Shepherd looked at Miranda's eyes, he had never seen her so unnerved, and she was usually a cool customer. This wasn't a game for her, and for her to come to him for help, meant her father was more bad news than she was telling him.

"She's fine, but I was contacted by Niket, your father had sent Eclipse mercs to make the sweep" she said. "He suggested the mercs might be watching you personally. He offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal, instead."

"Who's Niket?" Shepherd asked.

"My older brother" Jacob said.

"Do you want to use any other contacts on Illium?" she asked.

"No, you, Jacob and Niket, are the only ones I trust on this"

"You sure? Changing plans could be dangerous" Shepherd said.

"I'm sure, I trust Niket with my sister" Miranda said. "Lenteia, we'll follow his suggestion, and take a car to draw their attention, have Niket to escort the family to the shuttle and give him full access to the family itinerary, just to be safe "

The asari nodded. "Of course, Miss Lawson, and be careful, you too Mr. Taylor"

"So the plan is to get shot down, while your sister gets away?"

"Eclipse will be under orders to take my sister alive, they won't risk that" Miranda said.

"Still, I doubt that Eclipse will send all their people just to stop us, want get Niket back up?"

"My brother can take care of himself, always had, and besides armed back up would draw too much attention to him" Jacob said.

"Alright, let's go" Shepherd said.

"Thank you Shepherd, I hadn't plan on Eclipse, but they never planned on you"

They found a car after leaving the bar and drove to the location of the Eclipse mercs. The cargo area was huge, full boxes, equipment. A perfect place for Niket to hide with Orianna, this was eclipse they were dealing with, and they had plenty of people looking for them, including mechs. There was only so many places they could hide before, eclipse box them in. The team to a car to meet with the mercs, during the flight towards the cargo terminal, Miranda notices several Eclipse Gunships at the cargo area.

"Damn it, they'll be dropping troops in the cargo area" she said. "Figures…"

"We'll get her out" Jacob said. Miranda nodded.

"I'll put us down in the cover behind the truck" Shepherd said. "Get ready" The felt car shake hard, the mercs were firing at them; Shepherd zigzagged to dodge the gunfire. However, the cab had been damaged from the open fire, forcing a hard landing a few meters away from the mercs. The squad exits the disabled cab.

"Everyone okay?" Shepherd asked. Jacob and Miranda nodded.

"Company" Jacob said. The mercs approached them, ready to open fire if it came to it. Shepherd analyzed their oppositions. The leader had on tech armor, same design as his own armor and he probably was a shotgun user, he would be trouble. To his side, were two troopers, not really a problem if you took them out fast. In the back were two engineers, a salarian and a human, also three heavy weapon users for when Shepherd and his team took down the leader.

"I got this" their leader said.

"Since you're not firing, I trust you know who I am" Miranda said.

"Yeah, you're the bitch that kidnapped our bosses little girl" he said.

Miranda frowned. "Kidnapped?" This doesn't involve you, so take your men and leave"

The merc leader smirked. "Think you got it all lined up, do you? Captain Enyala's moving on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won't be helping you."

"What do you mean?" Jacob said clenching his fist.

"Nothing you need to worry about unless you do something stupid"

"Bastard" Jacob growled as he glowed a faint blue. Miranda grabbed is hand and shook her head. He calmed down.

"You walk away and the girl goes back to her father, everyone's happy"

"Everyone but my sister and…me" she said. "You're not taking her" Shepherd nodded.

"I'm giving one chance to leave, that's more than most get" Shepherd said. "I suggest you take it"

The leader laughed. "Just the three of you? You won't get the chance, while we were talking, my men have lined up shots" the merc said. "On my order, they will unleash hell, leave before it gets ugly"

"Is that so?" Before the leader could react, Shepherd grabs him and using his superior strength snaps the Engineer's neck like a twig while Miranda pulls her pistol and shoots the merc standing behind the Engineer. Shepherd then glances up and fires a few shots at an overhead fuel container, which falls and explodes. Then the squad runs into cover, Jacob pulls the last merc towards him and blasts him with his shotgun. After disposing the group of mercs, they move up and take cover at the right due to there more mercs there. They were using the cover to take pot shots at the squad. Shepherd let loose his singularity field, while they were in the air Miranda slammed them to the ground, snapping their necks. They ran to the elevator.

"Team one, team four come in" Miranda walked over and picked up the radio.

"Hold on, I've got one of their radios. I'll patch us in" she said. She worked her omni-tool. "Ok, we can now listen on their radio chatter" The team went to the elevator; during the ride Miranda noticed Jacob was silent. "Jacob?"

He looked at her. "Sorry, just worried about Niket, after mom died and dad disappeared, he's the only family I have left you know"

Miranda lowered her head. "I'm sorry I got you and Niket in the middle of my mess with my father" she said sadly. "It's my fault…"

"Don't be…we would help you, even if you didn't ask for our help" he said. "I have no regrets"

Miranda clasped his hand. "Thank you, I promise to make it up to you, both of you" The elevator reached its stop. Miranda saw the gold and white of Eclipse uniforms. "They're on the far side of the conveyor belt, time your shots"

"Got it" Shepherd said as he pulled out his arch projector. He fired the on the mercs causing an explosion when the electricity hit the canisters. More came replacing the fallen mercs, Jacob pulled the mercs over the ravine, and Miranda gunned down the ones left standing. When the battle was over the com patch through, it was their captain.

"This is Enyala! Keep the bitch back! Niket is nearing the transport terminal"

"So, he is alive "Jacob said relieved.

"Not for long if we don't hurry" Shepherd said. The team continued to explore the area, fight mercs to get to Niket and Oriana. The battles were not by themselves hard, but the engineers and their drone made the battles long and drawn out, exactly what Enyala wanted. Over the next corner, they were attacked by mech, Shepherd and Miranda overloaded the mechs.

"I don't care how many mechs you lose, stall them, damn it" More mercs took the place of the mechs, the taking precious time.

"Damn it he's not getting Oriana" she said taking cover. The mercs were relentless, but was dealt with Shepherd's heavy weapon. Miranda was thankful for his weapon, as it saved a lot of time. "We're close, we just take the elevator, and we can catch up with them"

Just as they enter this area, EDI notifies them. "Eclipse operative have disabled the elevator, to stall you, I am attempting to override"

"Thanks EDI" They took cover immediately as enemies will come from all direction, including the elevator. "This is it, time to pull all the stops" Miranda and Jacob nodded.

"Don't worry Ori, we're coming…" she muttered. The battle was long and hard-fought, after the battle EDI was able to override the controls. They then heard the radio.

"Niket is at the terminal. He'll switch the family over to our transport" Jacob and Miranda looked at each other.

"W-what?" Jacob asked.

"But that can't be right…Niket wouldn't…" Miranda said disbelieving. "Maybe the captain knows…and is feeding us false info"

"I-it's got to be, my brother wouldn't do this" Jacob said. "He's loyal to a fault, always been"

"What makes you so sure?" Shepherd asked.

"He could have turned on us when I ran away, but he didn't" Miranda said.

"She's right" he said. "Her father had tried to buy us off multiple times, he knew we needed the money, but we never told"

"Maybe you're right, it could be a misunderstanding "Shepherd said. "We won't know until we get there" The elevator went up. Shepherd and team heard chatter from the other side of the door.

"Listen to me, I got authorization to change their booking!" a male voice said.

"Who is that?" Shepherd said looking back at Miranda and Jacob. They looked downtrodden, it was then he knew the answer, it was Niket.

"I'm sorry, sir. We're under security lockdown until the situation is under control. No passengers can be rebooked."

Another voice was heard. "This isn't worth my time, Niket. I get paid regardless of how the girl gets there"

"I was told to handle this my way; we're not traumatizing the girl any more than we…" The elevator opened Shepherd and the squad arrives from the elevator. "Miri, Jacob…"


	32. Chapter 24:The Prodigal&the Brothers pt2

**Chapter 24: The Prodigal and The Brothers pt.2**

_**Elysium-Fifteen years ago**_

_Jacob shook his head in disbelief. Miranda had told her the story, about her stumbling into her father's study that revealed a secret lab that held her little sister, Orianna. But that wasn't all she found out, she found her true origin, that she wasn't Henry Lawson's daughter but his clone. "So the story about your mother dying during childbirth…."_

"_All lies…"_

_Jacob put his hand on her shoulder. "Miri, I'm so sorry…"_

_Miranda shook her head. "And the worst part about this? Orianna and I weren't even the first ones he made…" she said. "There were twelve clones, before me and Ori, six boys and six girls"_

"_What happened to them…?" Jacob asked grimly. He really didn't want to know the answer._

"_They were flushed…" Miranda whispered. "When they didn't meet my father's expectations they we disposed of, they never made it to their first years" Jacob's eyes went wide, Miranda could have easily been one of those twelve. He couldn't wrap his head around it, how could someone be so cruel to their children?_

"_Okay…let's hide her, I'll just call Niket and…"_

"_Wait!"_

"_Miri?"_

"_Niket can't know…" She said. Jacob was taken aback by that statement, since they were little; they never had to hide anything from each other. No matter what they could tell each other anything._

"_Miri, he's my brother, I can't just lie about something like this"_

"_He wouldn't understand this…"She said sadly._

_**Now**_

The elevator opened Shepherd and the squad arrives from the elevator. "Miri, Jacob…" There they stood with a dark-skinned man and two asari, one was an ordinary dockworker and the other was dressed in eclipse armor, Enyala. Shepherd looked at Miranda and Jacob, they had look of hurt on their faces.

Enyala smirked. "This should be fun" she said raising her gun. Shepherd and team raised their guns as well. The dock official tries to run, but Enyala mercilessly shoots her.

"Why, Niket?" Miranda said. "You were my friend"

Niket looked away "Only because you wanted to leave" Niket said. "But if I had known about you stealing a child…"

"I didn't steal her, I saved her"

"From a life of wealth and happiness?" He asked. "You weren't saving her! You were getting back at your father" He then looked at Jacob. "And you Jacob, how could you do this? My own brother. And worse you didn't even tell me, I had to find out from Mr. Lawson"

Jacob and Miranda looked at each other "He contacted you?" he asked.

Niket nodded. "Yes, just before you called Miri, I was contacted by Mr. Lawson" he said. "He told me about the bugs you placed before you left; he even told me that you two joined Cerberus, a damned terrorist group! He wanted me to play along and then Orianna would go to a different shuttle to her father"

Shepherd frowned. "Father? Orianna's been with her family for years, you would be taking her from the only family she's knows" he said. "How can you justify that?"

"Mr. Lawson can be a hard man, I know, but he can give her a good life" Niket said. He looked at Jacob. "The kind of life I wished we had…"

Jacob eyes went wide. "You didn't…" His eyes narrowed. "How much Niket? How much did he pay you?!"

Niket looked away. "Three million credits, enough to pay off some debts and live comfortably"

Miranda frowned. "Damn it, how could you? How could take his money?!"

"Don't you dare, Miranda! You've been living of his money for years; you don't get to play high and mighty!" Niket said angrily.

"Do you even know what kind of man you sold your soul to?!" she asked. "The kind of man who would murder his own child if it wasn't up to his standards!"

"W-what do you mean?" he asked.

Miranda hesitated for a bit before speaking again. "I'm his clone, I wasn't born in the womb, like you and your brother, I was engineered in a lab" she said. "Just like my siblings before me, I was to be replaced when I didn't live up his so-called legacy"

Niket's eyes widen. "You mean…"

"Oriana was to be Miri's replacement, he was going to have Miranda killed and make it look like accident" Jacob said.

"And he'll do the same thing to Orianna, if his ego isn't sated" Miranda said.

"I…" was all Niket could say.

"Come on bro, this isn't right" he said. "Please don't do this, especially to a friend"

"If you're working for Miranda's father, then we need a new solution" Shepherd said. "If you really care for her, you'll do it"

Niket was silent for a while, Jacob and Miranda was nervous, and rightly so if Niket decided to side with Miranda's father, they would have to fight him. Shepherd knew that due their history things would be hard on them, killing someone you cared about was never easy. Shepherd looked at Enyala, her eyes were cold, and she too was anticipating Niket's answer. "I'll tell you hid her that I don't know where she is"

Enyala glared at him. "What?!"

Niket looked at her. "This isn't right; I don't care what Mr. Lawson says, I'm not betraying Miri"

"Niket…" Miranda said.

"Bro…" Jacob said. They then heard a shot and Niket slumped to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. Enyala stood there with a satisfied smirked as she reloaded her shotgun. "NO!"

"NIKET!" Miranda screamed.

"Well that was unfortunate, but at least I get paid extra" Enyala said with a smirk.

"What do you mean?" Shepherd asked.

"Mr. Lawson had a feeling that Niket would go soft, and try something" she said. "So he paid me extra for cleanup work" Miranda and Jacob glared at her. "I was going to kill him after the girl was secure, but your little drama made things easier, thanks for making me fifty thousand credits richer"

Miranda lifts her and biotically flings the Eclipse Captain across the room, her eyes filled with hate. "YOU'LL DIE FOR THAT, BITCH!"

Enyala got back to her feet ready to fight; around her were several eclipse mercs. Shepherd stepped forward and activated his tech armor. Shepherd looked at Jacob and Miranda, their eyes was cold and focused on Enyala they were out for blood, more specifically her's "I'll handle these guys; I guess you'll want to take that bitch down"

Jacob glowed. "Yes" he said simply walking with Miranda.

"Give 'em hell" Shepherd said. He faced down the Eclipse mercs. "Fifteen against one, I almost feel sorry for you" He took out his arc projector and pulled the trigger.

Jacob caught up with Miranda to face Enyala. "Well, isn't this something, a brother and a childhood friend avenging a loved one who wronged them, it would be funny, if it wasn't so damn pathetic" Miranda threw a warp field at Enyala, she just smirked and glowed a biotic blue, and charged at Miranda.

"Miri!" Jacob said. He pushed Miranda out the way and took the asari's attack. Jacob flew back and hit the rails hard bending them. Jacob clutched his chest, Enyala charge was powerful if he didn't raise his barrier it would have been much worse than a couple of broken ribs.

"Jacob!" she said coming to his side. "Speak to me"

"I'm alright, just a scratch" he joked as he winced in pain. Miranda threw a warp field at Enyala and backed it up with fire from her machine gun, but it bounced off like it was nothing. Enyala's barrier was the toughest she ever seen, not even her most powerful warp could take it down. Enyala gave a sickening grin as she started to glow blue, she charged at them, Miranda pulled Jacob away and two dodged as the asari rammed through several crates. Miranda and Jacob shot at her, but she once again raised her barrier. They were getting nowhere fast, and Enyala is catching her stride, they needed to think of something quick. Jacob then spoke up.

"The row of canisters near to her, if we can her there and set off the canisters, you should be able break her barrier" Jacob said as he went get up. "I'll draw her fire, you just get in the position" Miranda put a hand on his shoulder, concerned for his well-being, with his busted ribs he wouldn't get anywhere far. "I'll be fine, now go"

"Don't you dare die on me, Jacob" She said as she got up. Jacob ran and shot Enyala with his pistol, getting her attention. He ran between the rows of canisters.

"A chase, I love a good hunt" She said charging up her attack. Jacob ran as fast he could, but his ribs were screaming in pain. He had to get at the end, Enyala charged at him at last moment he ducked and rolled, it was hell on his ribs, but at least he got where he wanted her.

"Miri, now!" Jacob yelled. Miranda pointed her omni-tool at the canisters overloading it, causing a chain of explosions, each stronger than the last. Enyala looked back to see the raging fireball coming at her.

Her eyes went wide. "Oh, sh-"The ball of fire engulfed her, she screamed in agony as she ran desperately trying to kill the flames, however the flames only got bigger and bigger until the asari slowed down and fell down leaving only charred remains of a former asari. Miranda went to Jacob and helped him up.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"No…" he said as looked at the corpse of Niket. The last mec fell as a round struck his skull; Shepherd went to Miranda and Jacob. As he got closer, he saw them near the body of Niket, mourning him. Shepherd looked on giving them time. After a moment, they exited the docks to enter the space port and meet with Oriana.

"No sign of Eclipse, we lost them" Miranda said. She then moved her gaze to a red-haired woman, she looked just like a young Miranda. She was smiling with a man with dark brown hair and woman with black hair, her family. "There she is, safe with her…family"

"She's beautiful, like you" Jacob said holding on to Miranda. She blushed.

"Come on, we should go"

"Don't you want to talk to her?" Shepherd asked.

Miranda lowered her head. "It's not about what I want, it's about what's right for her" She said. "The less she knows about me, the better"

"Bullshit" Jacob said. "You finally found family who can love you for real, don't pass it up, because of a little fear"

"But your ribs…" She said.

"Can be fixed later" he said. "She doesn't need to know the details, but would it be so bad for her to know she has a sister that loves her?" Miranda looked to Shepherd, he smiled and nodded.

"Go to her, I'll take care of Jacob" Shepherd said. "This is your moment"

"Thank you, both of you" she said walking over to her sister. Shepherd and Jacob sat down, waited for Miranda.

"Funny" Shepherd said.

"What is?" Jacob asked.

"I don't think I ever seen Miranda smile" he said. "It's nice"

Jacob looked at Miranda. "Yeah it is, just like when we were kids" Jacob then grew seriously. "Losing family, does it ever get easy?"

"No it doesn't, you always find yourself wishing you had said you cared or regret bad things, you wish you could take back" he said. "But when you have people who care for you, the loss doesn't hurt as bad" He smiled. "We're lucky to have people who do care for us"

Jacob smiled. "Thanks"

"No problem" Miranda came and met with Jacob and Shepherd, with a final goodbye to Oriana, they went back to the Normandy.

_**Elysium-Fifteen years ago**_

_Jacob looked around the corners, no sign of the men after Miranda. He gave the signal and Miranda came out of the shadows with Orianna. They made it to the house of Alice and Michal Jameson, school teachers at Jacob's middle school. According to Jacob, they were very well liked teachers at school and in their community, they had always wanted to have children, but couldn't due to cancer robbing Mrs. Jameson's of her ability to conceive. For Miranda, they were the perfect choice, normal and unassuming; Orianna would have a family worthy of her._

"_You sure about this, Miri?"Jacob asked. "You may never see her again, you know"_

"_I know, but it's for the best, she doesn't need know about her origins, my father, or even me…she'll grow up happy" Miranda said sadly. Miranda looked at Orianna one last time, she looked at her smiling, oblivious of what was going to happen next. Tears ran down her face as Miranda kissed her sister's forehead, possibly for the last time. "I know you'll never know me, and I want it that way, but no matter what, your big sister loves you and wishes for you to have happy long life"_

"_Good bye Ori…" She sat her down on the porch gently and rang the doorbell. Jacob and Miranda ran away, as man came and scooped up the little girl and went inside. Miranda looked back and smiled._

_**Now **_

Later back on the Normandy, Miranda went to check on Jacob in the med bay. Jacob was ordered, by Shepherd to take time off until his ribs were all better. Talking with her sister made her think, about Cerberus, about her life, and especially Jacob, who's been with her since the beginning, through thick and thin. Shepherd was right, life was too short, they could die all on the mission, and if that was the case, she would not have any regrets. She went inside.

"Hey" Jacob said. He had his shirt off with white bandages wrapped around his chest while his ribs healed.

"Hey" She said. "Are you doing okay?"

"The Doc said I was lucky to only have broken ribs, it could have easily been worse" Jacob said. "I'm out of action for a good four to five weeks"

"Maybe you'll think next time before doing that again" She said.

"Never when it comes to you" Jacob said. Miranda blushed.

"I'm sorry about Niket, he wouldn't have died if he didn't meet me, and you wouldn't be hurt…" She said.

"I told you I don't regret damn thing" Jacob said. "If Niket was alive, he'd say the same thing, I care about Miri, that won't change" Miranda ran up and kissed him on the lips, Jacob blushed and looked confused. "Wow…"

"I care for you too" She said. "You the only one that I can be myself with and I want to be with you"

Jacob smiled. "The Cerberus queen showing her emotions, whatever will the crew think?" He asked jokingly.

She crossed her arms and scoffed. "I don't care what they think"

"Shepherd's devil-may-care attitude is rubbing off on you" he said with a smirk.

"He may be an idiot, but he does give good advice from time to time" Miranda said. "Would like to bunk with me? only for tonight of course"

Jacob got up and kissed her on the lips. "Of course" Miranda and Jacob made their way to her room, hand in hand.

_Miranda's sister and her family successfully placed at (LOCATION REDACTED). Mother's new job pays well and enough to ensure comfort and ease. Will keep Oriana under observation for her safety only. Miranda Lawson is too valuable to Cerberus, and Oriana's well-being is easiest means of procuring loyalty._

_Miranda remains loyal to Cerberus and now trusts Shepherd.-_ _Mission Summary_


	33. Chapter 25: The Collector Ship

**Chapter 25: The Collector Ship **

"What? Say that again?" Shepherd asked shocked. After coming back from saving Miranda's sister, he had gotten a message from TIM on the collectors, what he heard was damned surprising.

"I intercepted a distress call from a turian patrol. They stumbled upon a collector ship beyond the Korlus system." He said smoking a drag. "They were wiped out, but not before crippling their ship"

"Hard to believe anything could cripple them, especially after what they did to my old ship" Shepherd said.

"The ship is strong, yes, but it's not invincible, the fact it can be crippled is proof" TIM said. "I need you to board that vessel and get hard data on the Collectors. Find us away to the home world."

"If they had a patrol, won't the turians send out a recon team?" He asked.

"They will eventually, but I intercepted the transmissions. In the meantime, we're feeding them false reports" he said. "You're close enough that you can be in and out before the turians find the truth"

"Do you what I can expect there?" Shepherd asked.

"My reports indicate the hull's intact, but all systems seem offline" He said. "They could be making repairs as we speak, I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let the an opportunity like this slip by"

"Send me the coordinates, I'll check it out"

"Already sent" He said. "Once on-board establish a link with EDI. She'll mine their data on the Omega-4 relay" He smoked a drab. "Good luck, Shepherd"

"Won't need luck" He said with a smirk. TIM's image faded. "Joker"

"Coordinates punched in, ETA three hours" Joker said.

The Normandy crew made their way to the disabled collector ship. It was still hard to believe that turians disabled the ship, Shepherd wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"We have a visual, Commander" Joker said. There it was, the insect hive-like ship floating dead in space, the once mighty ship that destroyed the first Normandy and killed Shepherd two years ago was now a plaything to the whims of the galaxy. Even though it was disabled, the team couldn't let down their guards, it was still a collector ship.

"I had hope to never see that ship again" Tali said.

"I know me too" Shepherd said. "EDI, what'd we got?"

"Very low emissions. Passive inferred temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold." She said.

"That thing's massive. How the hell did the turians take it out?" Joker asked.

"Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortion, the drive core seem to be offline"

"Hmm, a patrol ship did this much damage to the systems?" Tali asked. "Wayne, we should be careful, something about this whole thing seems off"

"Agreed" Shepherd said.

"Rendezvous in thirty seconds, good luck commander" Joker said.

The team made touchdown in the ship, the interior was something else; it looked more like an insect hive on the inside than the outside. The ship definitely had an otherworldly feel to it, like they were ripped out of their world and into theirs; it felt off, it felt wrong. The uneasiness of it all put the team on edge.

"Never seen a ship like this before" Tali said.

"It's too quiet, I don't like it" Thane said. "We should have seen collectors by now"

"Keep an eye out, except ambushes" Shepherd said activating his tech armor. They went on exploring the ship and still there was nothing, Shepherd didn't get it, were the Collectors all dead? Shepherd then shook his head, it wouldn't be possible the ship was just disabled and he pretty sure they had back-up systems, after all they were no good to the reapers if they dead, not to mention they were quite protective of their capture as seen on Horizon.

"Scans have indicated an access node to up-link with Collector databanks" EDI said. "Marking location to your omni-tools"

"Thanks"

"I have also compared this ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles"

"What'd you find out?" Tali asked.

"It is the same vessel encountered on Horizon"

"Maybe the defense towers soften it for the turians" he said.

"Didn't you say there were colonists that were taken from that colony, maybe we'll find them" She said.

"Doubtful, when a person is in collector hands, they are never seen again" Thane said. Shepherd spoke up.

"I think your theory is correct" he said. "Look" They came across brown pod, the same ones Shepherd encountered on Horizon.

"Keelah…" Tali gasped. Thane checked the pods.

"It's empty" he said. "I can only imagine the terror they felt, they will be avenged."

They had been only minutes on the ship, but it felt like hours as they continued to exploring the ship and still they saw no signs of Collectors, just more and more pods, some empty and not. Finally they got to an opening, only to see the remnants Collector's carnage. Piles upon piles of bodies lay on the ground, discarded like trash. A lot of them had regular clothes on, some had on armor, and even more disturbing some of them were children, some as young as four and some as old as thirteen.

"How could they do this?" Tali asked in horror. She held on to Shepherd and looked away.

Shepherd clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Bastards…" He said in a quiet rage. Thinking back to what Kaiden said on Horizon, to think if he had come later to Horizon, Kaiden would either be a husk or lying in a pile right now from the Collectors doing god knows what. Thane came up to pile and knelt to one knee and clasped his hands together.

"Grant these poor souls mercy and passage to the deep, Kalihera" Thane prayed silently.

"We'll avenge them, they're not doing this to others" Shepherd said. Tali and Thane nodded.

The team moved on, finding more and more bodies until they reached a new area, this area felt cold and sterile; it was a lab and on the bed was collector, a dead one. It was still hooked up to the machines; it seems the Collectors were just as cold and callus to their own as they were to the colonists. "Experimenting on their own? Why am I not surprised?" Shepherd asked. Shepherd activated his omni-tool and scanned the dead Collector. "EDI, I'm uploading data from this terminal, see if you can figure out what they were up to"

"Data received. Analyzing" she said. "The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."

"Why?" Tali asked "Are they looking for similarities?"

"I have no hypothesis on their motivations. All I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable"

"And that is?" Shepherd asked.

"A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to those collected from ancient ruins"

"Ancient ruins?" Then Shepherd's eyes went wide. It could only mean one thing "You mean…"

"Yes, the collectors are the protheans"

"Keelah, but they're extinct!" Tali said shocked.

"They are no longer prothean, just slaves to the reapers" Thane said. "A tragic fate"

"Thane is right, their genes show extensive genetic rewrite" EDI said. "The reapers repurposed them to suit their needs"

"You'd think someone would have picked up on this" Shepherd said.

"No one has had the opportunity to study a collector genetic code in this detail" she said. "I have already matched two-thousand alleles to the recorded fragments; this Collector likely descends from a prothean colony in the Styx Theta Cluster, but there are signs of extreme alteration. Three fewer chromosomes, reduced heterochromatic structure, Elimination of superfluous 'junk' sequences"

"The reapers cruelty knows no bounds" Tali hissed. "Even the geth aren't as bad as them"

"We need to stop this" Shepherd said. "Let's go" The team went on their way, the less and less they saw the collectors, the more nervous they became. They made it to an even bigger area, the floor, walls, and the ceiling was lined with pods.

"Keelah, there are so many of them" Tali said.

"How many are in there?" Thane asked.

"Too many" Shepherd said with a frown.

"There are no life signs in the pods, Shepherd" EDI said. She almost sounded sad. "It is probable that the victims died when the ship lost primary power" Joker then spoke up.

"Commander, you gotta hear this. On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this"

"What did you find out?" Tali asked.

"I compared the EM profile against the data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago, they're an exact match"

"This is the same ship that killed Wayne two years before?" she asked. Her voice sounded pained.

"The same ship? Way beyond coincidence"

"Something doesn't add, Commander, watch your back"

"Got it, you heard the man"

The team made it to an even bigger area; there were pods as far as the eye could see, too many to count. As they walked, they could see that some of the pods were full, but then most of them were not. "That is…big" Thane said.

"Keelah, They could take every human in the Terminus System, and still not have enough to fill the ship" Tali said. Her eyes went wide. "They're going target Earth"

"Not if we stop them" Shepherd said. He then saw a platform at the end of the path. The team took it. "Looks like a control panel, rookie"

"On it" Tali said. "EDI, I'm sending you a bridge between you and the collector ship, standby"

"Acknowledged" she said. "Data mine in progress, Tali" A beeping sound was then heard. "Joker? EDI?"

"Ah, that can't be good" Joker said.

"Status report" Shepherd ordered. The team heard a loud thud all around them. Shepherd looked to his side and saw a mechanism getting released and then a huge flash of light that temporarily blinded them. "What the hell just happened?"

"Major power surge, everything went dark, but we're back up" EDI spoke up.

"I managed to divert most of the overload to non-critical systems" she said, "It's not malfunction, it's a trap"

The platform started to float as the team held on. Shepherd groaned. "Tell me something I don't know" he said. "A little help here, EDI"

"I'm having trouble maintaining connection; someone else is in the System" The platform came to a complete stop, and the team fell to the floor. As Shepherd got off the floor several platforms started to fly towards them. On one of them, a collector started to glow.

"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL" it said.

"Aw, fuck" Shepherd cursed. Before the team could react, a blue shock broke their shields, flying in to the collectors side was a scion, it was going to be a tough battle. Harbinger fired a singularity field at Shepherd, the spectre ran to cover and the field flew overhead missing him.

"Go get them Chatika" Tali said summoning her drone. Thane took down two Collectors with his sniper rifle, with is shredder rounds, the collector's heads were torn to pieces. Shepherd froze Harbinger in a stasis field, and blasted the two Collectors with his particle weapon dissolving them into an orange paste. Chatika took down one Collector before expiring and exploding taking out two more.

"Hurts, don't it, bitch?" Shepherd asked with a smirk. He then opened his com. "EDI?"

"Connection reestablished. I need time to finish the download before I can override the any systems"

"Then get it done, fast" Shepherd said.

Shepherd got out of cover, and lifted the Collectors with his singularity field. Thane fired a throw field to knock them of the platforms. Tali were then knocked down by a wave of energy.

"Tali!" he said coming to her side.

"I'm alright" she said. "It lost a lot of power, before hitting me" Shepherd looked over his cover, another Scion joined the other, making it an even tougher battle. Harbinger broke free from its stasis and began firing warp fields at Shepherd again; Thane fired a warp field to get its attention. It worked as it was now targeting the drell, Tali drained its barrier to refill her own with Shepherd blasting the armor with his pistol finally killing it.

"Forty-one percent complete" EDI said.

"Come on, EDI. Speed it up!" Thane spoke up.

"More platforms incoming" he said. The platform landed and more collectors started to fire. One of them started to glow.

"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL" Harbinger said. The glowing collector fired a slow biotic field that almost knocks Shepherd and Tali out of cover. "YOU WILL FAIL, SHEPHERD"

"Fuck off" he growled as he blasted it with the particle cannon. Thane threw a warp field at Harbinger and it dissolved into dust. Tali summoned Chatika again to draw the Scions fire and blasted the Collectors of the platform with her geth shotgun.

"EDI?"

"Eighty-four percent complete"

"EDI, get us out of here!" Shepherd said.

"I am simultaneously fighting collector firewalls in over eight-thousand nodes, I am tasked to capacity."

"Fuck…" Shepherd cursed as he took out his particle rifle. Shepherd aimed at the mass effect field of the enemies' platform. The platform with the scions crashed wildly into the oncoming platforms, causing collectors to fall to death, along with the scion. After a while, all was quiet, no more enemies came forward.

"I think that's all" Thane said. Shepherd and Tali sighs a breath of relief.

"Tali, you must manually reestablish my link to the command console" EDI said.

"You heard her, rookie" Shepherd said. Tali nodded. He looked at Thane. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine, Shepherd, the collectors are stronger than I thought" he said. "We have long road ahead of us"

"Damn straight" Shepherd said.

"Wayne, you need to see this" Tali yelled. Shepherd and Thane went to Tali.

"What's up, rookie?"

"EDI?" Tali asked. "Tell him exactly what you told me"

"Of course, first, I have regain control of the platform" she said.

"Knew you could do it, EDI" Shepherd said. "So what's up?"

"I found data to help us navigate the Omega-4 relay successfully" EDI said. "I have also found the turian distress call that served as a lure for this trap. The collectors were the source. It is unusual"

"How so?" Thane asked.

"Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is present, but corrupted in the message" she said. "It is possible the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine"

"Why are you so sure?"

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocol. He wrote them"

"He knew it was a trap? Why would he send us into a trap?" Joker asked.

Shepherd clenched his fist. "Does it matter? That son of a bitch sent us right into collector hands!" he growled.

"I knew we couldn't trust them" Tali said angrily.

"Cerberus is not known for its good faith" Thane said calmly. Joker spoke up.

"Uh…Commander. We've got another problem, the collector ship is powering up" he said. "You need to get out of there; we're not losing you and the Normandy again"

"I do not have full control of their systems. I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction"

"Let's move people, double time" Shepherd ordered.

The platform they were on descended to the ground. The team made their way to the shuttle coordinates. "Around the corner. Take the door on your right" EDI said. A door opened up, and the team ran down the path. They heard the sound of buzzing wings.

"Wayne incoming" Tali said.

The team got to cover. Thane threw the first collector out of the air and into the ravine. Shepherd threw a singularity field at the collectors before they landed and followed it up with a warp field. The heard animalistic growls in front of them, it was husks and they were coming fast. Tali summoned Chatika, to divert their attention; the husks attacked the drone until it exploded. The team hurried to the down the battles were fierce, and the battle were made more difficult by the exploding Abominations charging the squad, Thane pushed it back with a throw, while Shepherd froze it and it shattered against the walls. Tali sabotaged the collectors' guns; cause them to disintegrate from the eruption of power.

"I am opening a door on the far side of the room" EDI said. A crab-like husk floated towards the team along with a regular husks running alongside its flank.

"Rookie and Thane do it" Shepherd ordered. Thane got out the hydra fired at the new husk along with Shepherd. Tali got the arch projector out and fired at the husks on the ground. Collectors came in and to support the huge husk. 'Now's a good time as any' Shepherd thought. Shepherd closed his eyes and focused on the collector nearest to the husk. A blue mass effect field enveloped the collectors and fired on the husk.

"What was that?" Tali asked.

"A skill I learned from Samara, Dominate" Shepherd said. "It hi-jacks an organics mind and fights its allies"

Tali eyes went wide. "You can indoctrinate organics" Shepherd shook his head.

"Nope, unlike indoctrination, it will wear off, it's kind of like when you hack mechs and geth" he said. "The problem is I can't sustain it for very long and I get tired easily"

"Uh…"

"Don't worry I'm only using it husks and collectors, promise"

"Good" she said. The collectors finished the husk and the team the fired on the remaining enemies. They moved to the door only for the door to close them.

"Uh, EDI? Problem" Shepherd said.

"A temporary setback on Firewall3217. Rerouting commands through Firewall7164" EDI said. "I have opened a door on the opposite wall. I will keep it open as long as I can" The door opened.

"Down there, isn't that where we came in?" Thane asked.

"We're getting close to the end, we need to hurry" They ran through the ship fighting more of the collectors. Abomination came charging at the team. Shepherd used dominate, to control the abomination and caused it to run to its allies and take them out.

"ASSUMING CONTROL" Harbinger said. Tali's drone exploded and killed more Collectors. "LEAVE THE DEAD WHERE THEY FALL"

"Thane!" Shepherd ordered. Thane fired the Hydra at Harbinger while Shepherd fired at the possessed collector.

"YOU WILL KNOW PAIN, SHEPHERD" Harbinger said as it dissolved to ash.

"Not today" Shepherd growled. They moved through the corridor, Shepherd com beeped.

"Uh, Commander? Hate to rush you, but those weapons are close to being online" he said. "Might want to double time, before the Normandy is blown in half again"

"Almost there, Joker" Shepherd said. The door opened to reveal husks. "We might be a little late"

"We got this Wayne" Tali said getting out the arch projector. The shock stunned the husk, while Thane used the throw field to knock them down. The team ran passed the fallen husks to the extraction point.

"We're out of time, Commander! We have to go!" Joker said. The team got to the shuttle with husks chasing them.

"Go, Go, Go!" Shepherd said. The shuttle roared and flew back to the Normandy, while the collector ship was coming alive.

"Shore party back on the Normandy" EDI said.

"Got it, strap in people, we're outta here" Joker said. Shepherd and Tali ran to the cockpit of the Normandy as Joker was frantically getting the ship to move. The engines hummed and the Normandy flew away from the Collector ship. The collector ship glowed and fired its weapon, and the Normandy swerved left and right. The ship fired again and its weapon grazed the side of the ship, thankfully Tali's shield upgrade for the Normandy softened the blow. "I can't dodge this guy forever, EDI; get us the hell out of here!"

"Specify a location, Mr. Moreau" EDI said. The Normandy was dodging the particle weapon, but barely. The Collector ship, despite its size was quite agile.

"Anywhere that's not here!" Joker said.

"Engaging mass effect core" she said. The instruments beeped, they were being locked on and the ship was getting ready to fire. A straight on hit would be the end of the Normandy. The engines hummed and the Normandy engaged FTL engines, the cruiser blasted off as the Collector ship fired. "No enemies sighted" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good job, both of you" Shepherd said.

"No problem, Commander" Joker said with a smirk.

"Of course, Shepherd" EDI said. Tali spoke up.

"I'm going to go and see if your crazy stunt did something to engines" Tali said. "I'll see you later, Wayne" Shepherd kissed her forehead.

"Later rookie" Shepherd said. He then grew serious. "I need to talk to TIM"

"I figured you had a few words for him" Joker said. "Give him hell"

"I plan to" Shepherd said. He made his way to the com room; the crew saw the Commander coming and instantly got out of his way. They never seen Shepherd so pissed before, whatever happened, all they knew was that TIM was going to get an earful. Shepherd went in and pressed the button and TIM was there sitting in his chair as usual.

"Shepherd, it looks like EDI extracted some interesting data from the collector base" TIM said.

"Cut the bullshit!" Shepherd growled. "I knew I couldn't trust you, EDI told us the call was from the collectors, what the fuck?! Explain!"

"We're at war. The collectors are taking humans and every minute we waste is one more we give the enemy to prepare" TIM said. "I won't apologize for take initiative"

"Fuck you, I know the stakes, we're supposed to be on the same side, and yet you seem to work very hard to fuck us over!" Shepherd said pointing accusingly at him.

"Without that information, we won't reach their homeworld, and you and every other human might as well be dead" TIM said. "Are you willing to break off our partnership, and risk humanity's fate?" he then smoked a drab and looked directly into Shepherd's eyes "Are you willing to risk Tali'Zorah's fate?" Shepherd glared at him.

"No" he said through gritted teeth. Shepherd hated this, TIM knew he would never risk Tali's safety, no matter what, and was using his love for her against him. He hated his guts.

"Yes, it was a trap, but I was confident in your abilities. And they didn't anticipate EDI" he said. "I needed the collectors to believe they had the upper hand, telling you could have tipped them off, besides I was confident you would succeed" Shepherd clenched his fist, TIM had him, as much as he hated what he did, he had a point, every angle had a point and he hated that.

Shepherd sighed. "Fine what do you got?"

"EDI confirm our suspicions" he said. "The reapers and the collectors uses an advance IFF that the relay recognize, we need that IFF"

"How do we get it?"

"An Alliance science team recently determined that the Great Rift on Klendagon is actually an impact crater from mass accelerator weapon" TIM said. "A very old mass accelerator weapon, I sent a team to find the weapon or its target. They found both, the weapon was defunct, but it helped us plot flight path of its target: a 37 million old derelict reaper"

"Let me guess, you want me to find it"

"This is too important, we need that IFF" he said. "I'll forward the coordinates to Joker; in the meantime you should tell your crew I didn't risk them unnecessarily"

"Yeah, whatever" he said.

Later after the meeting, he went down to engineering to see Tali; he really needed some cheering up. When he got there, he saw Tali surrounded by Lia and Gabby trying to cheer her up. It was quiet, deathly quiet unusual for the usually jovial engineering crew. Even Donnelly was quiet and serious, something was wrong.

"Rookie?" Shepherd asked. Tali saw him and ran to him, hugging him tightly, crying. "Tali what's wrong?" he asked concerned.

"I got a summons from the Fleet" Tali choked. "They've accused me of treason"

Shepherd eyes went wide. "What?!"

"Wayne, I'm scared, I may never see my home again" Tali held on to Shepherd, her lover, her rock, and now her only protection against an unknown future.


	34. Chapter 26: Treason pt1

**Chapter 26: Treason pt.1**

Shepherd was pacing back and forth fuming on the crew deck. After Tali had calm down, she had told the team about the summons, she had to go back to Migrant Fleet due to being charged with treason. The team was surprised to say the least; they knew how Tali felt about her people and felt it was absurd that her people could even think that. And to Shepherd it was just plain insulting. "Treason?" he asked angrily. "Fucking stupid, anyone with half a brain would know you would never betray your people"

"Are you sure the message isn't fake? I mean someone could be screwing with you" Kaiden said.

"If they did, they have a fucked up sense of humor" Shepherd growled. Tali just shook her head.

"It's not fake, the encryption key, is used only by the Admiralty Board, the leaders of my people" she said sadly. "It's real"

Shepherd looked at her and lowered his head, could it because of that? Tali had told him, she was very careful about throwing out his ties to Cerberus, especially after Tali's first team betrayed her due to their relationship. The quarian people were not stupid, especially their leaders, if Taki was being put on trial, it had to be because of who she was with. It was basically his fault. "I-is it because, you're with Cerberus?" Shepherd asked sadly.

"I'm not working with Cerberus, I'm working with you, plus I've gotten leave to serve with you again" Tali said. Shepherd was relieved, it wasn't that. But question remained what were they charging her with. Tali sighed and shook her head. "I have no idea what they're accusing me of, you would think I'd remember if I betrayed the fleet"

"You're accused of treason, and yet they haven't told you what you're charged with" Garrus said. "That's in itself is suspicious"

Tali sighed. "Either way, I have to return to the fleet" she said.

"What happens when a Quarian is accused of treason?" Kaiden asked.

"A hearing with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges" she said.

"Isn't your father a member of the board, maybe he can help?" Shepherd asked.

"No, he'll have to recuse himself from judgment, not that it would matter with him, I can't even begin to image what he must be thinking" Tali said bitterly. "If I am convicted, I will be stripped of my ship name and exiled."

"You would be a nedas…" Lia gasped. Tali nodded sadly, and the room became silent. The fleet was everything to her, for her to be exiled would be the worst thing imaginable. Shepherd came over and raised her head looked into her eyes.

"Then I'll help, anyway I can" Shepherd said.

Tali blinked. "You don't hav…"

"But I want to, after all the times you helped me, you think I'm just going to leave my girlfriend out to dry?" Shepherd said. "You're stuck with me, rookie" Tali hugged him tightly.

"Saya sayang Kamu…" she said.

"And you know Garrus and I have your back" Kaiden said. Lia spoke up.

"Me too…" she said. "I want to help too"

Shepherd smiled. "There you have it, rookie, we're all with you"

Tali felt tears ran down her cheeks when hearing that, these were her crewmates, her friends, and her family, no matter the verdict, that would not change. "Terima kasih…" She said softly.

_Also known as the Flotilla, the Migrant Fleet is the massive fleet that became home to the quarians after they were driven from their home world by the geth. The Migrant Fleet consists of roughly fifty thousand starships that house seventeen million quarians. The Fleet is so large it can take days for all the ships to pass through a mass relay. Some of the vessels date from the original flight from the geth three centuries ago._

_The Migrant Fleet is rarely welcoming to outsiders, as any risk to the Fleet is a risk to the quarian species. Quarians rarely leave except to go on Pilgrimage; ships sometimes leave on an individual basis to pursue their own goals, on missions that can last days or years, but usually return-Codex._

The mass relay flashed and The Normandy entered the Valhallan Threshold the current location of the Migrant Fleet. When they arrived, at first they didn't see anything, Shepherd had thought they somehow missed them, but Tali told them to wait a moment. And from behind the two suns came a large moving mass, The Migrant Fleet, it was a sight to see. The smaller ships reminded him of the architecture of the buildings on Haestrom and bringing in the rear was the larger ships, including the largest capital ship, the Skaza, the meeting ship of the Admirals and where the trial would take place.

"Wow, when you said the Flotilla was huge, you weren't kidding…" Joker said in awe.

"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya" she said.

"Our systems have you flagged as Cerberus. Verify"

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began"

"Permission granted, welcome home Tali'Zorah"

"We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean"

"Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle seventeen"

Tali sighed. "I hope this goes well" She said. Shepherd put his hand on her shoulder.

"It will, you've got friends behind you all the way" he said with smile. "And me" Tali smiled.

Shepherd, Tali, Garrus, Kaiden, and Lia all came onto the Rayya and were met with armed guards. In front of the guards, was a quarian man in a brown and red suit, he raised his arms and his men put away their weapons. "Welcome back Tali'Zorah, I wish it was under better circumstances"

"I wish it was too, Wayne, this is Kar'Danna vas Rayya Nakhoda of my birthship" Tali said.

"Nakhoda Shepherd, Tali'Zorah has told me a lot about you" Kar'Danna said. Kar'Danna offered his hand and Shepherd shook it. The captain looked at Garrus and Kaiden. "I see you have brought quite the company, Tali"

"Don't mind us, we're just here to give Tali our support" Kaiden said.

Kar'Danna nodded. "Good, she will need all the support she can get"

"Do you what I'm being tried with?" Tali asked.

Kar'Danna sighed. "You have accused of bringing active geth to the fleet, Tali"

Tali's eyes went wide. "That's insane; I never brought back active geth, only parts and pieces"

Shepherd put his hand on Tali. "We'll get there when we get there" Tali nodded. Nakhoda Kar'Danna then noticed Lia.

"I don't think I've seen you before, and I remember everyone, what ship you hail from?" he asked.

"None, I'm an Anak, I wasn't born on a ship" Lia said.

"I see I'm afraid you're not allowed on any of the ships" He said.

"Why not?" Shepherd asked.

"She is an anak, a child of nedas, the exiles, they are considered a danger to the fleet" he said. "She must leave" The soldiers came to restrain Lia, but Garrus and Kaiden got in front of them. "I'm just doing my job, Nakhoda"

"She's a member of my crew, just like Tali, you can allow that, can you?" Shepherd asked.

"Very well, but she is your responsibility, understood?" Shepherd nodded. "Good, go down the hall, the trial will be ready shortly, good luck, Tali'Zorah Keelah Sa'lai"

Tali looked back at Lia. "I'm sorry about that" she said.

"Why am I considered a danger to the fleet?" she asked.

"Because, you might want revenge for your parent's exile" she said. "It was believed for a long time that an anak might seek retribution for what was done to their parents, so they changed the policy to if parents are exiled, the children may stay."

"That's alright, I wasn't bothered" Lia said.

"Let's go" As they walked to the trail floor, the team was getting looks from the other Quarians, they were something of a strange group, two humans, a turian, a Quarian on trial, and a anak. They then met a Quarian woman, Tali's eyes lit up and she hugged the woman. "Auntie Rann" she said. "Wayne vas Normandy, this is Admiral Shala'Rann vas Tonbay, she's a friend of my father"

"Welcome back Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, I could only delay them for so long" she said. Tali let go of Shala and looked at her.

"Vas Normandy?" Tali asked.

Shala nodded sadly. "They Admiralty Board have moved to try you under that name, due to you departure from the Neema"

"Why?" Shepherd asked.

Tali lowered her head. "They stripped me of my name already; they must really think I'm guilty" she said.

"Are you apart of the trial?" Kaiden asked.

"No, due to my history with Tali's family, I must recuse myself, like her father"

"I guess we should get started, do Tali have anyone to represent her?"

Shala smiled. "Yes, you Nakhoda Shepherd"

"Me?"

"She is a member of your crew, the law states her captain must represent her in her trial" Shepherd and Tali blushed and looked at each other.

"Wayne, you will represent me?"

"I'll do everything I can to help you" Shepherd said walking to the plaza. The rest of the team followed him leaving Tali and her aunt.

"So this is the great Commander Shepherd, you told me about" Shala started. "You were right, he is handsome"

Tali blushed. "Makacil!"

"Don't worry; I know he is yours, Tali" Shala said smiling. "I can see it in his eyes, the love he has for you, making him the one defending you might be your best chance" She chuckled softly. "How will your father will react I wonder?"

Tali paled. "I don't even want to know" She said. "He might exile me when he finds out, I…uh…gave myself to him" She blushed.

Shala eyes went wide. "You foolish girl, you could have …"

"I know, I took precaution and Shepherd had a decontamination unit installed in his room, so I could be out of my suit" she said. "He always does that, thinking of others, I love him…"

Shala shook her head. "I'm not happy with you taking risks with your health, but I'm happy you found someone who loves you back" she said. "What ever happen, go in peace little one" She hugged Tali.

"Thank you, Makacil" The Quarians in the plaza all took their seats, along with Garrus, Kaiden, and Lia. Tali walk beside Shepherd, to await her fate. Tali took a deep breath. When everything quieted down, Shala spoke.

"This Conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah Se'lai"

"Keelah Se'lai"

_**Saya sayang kamu: I love you  
Terima kasih: Thank you**_

_**Nakhoda: Captain**_

_**Anak: lost child  
Makacil: Auntie  
**_


	35. Chapter 27: Treason pt2

**Chapter 27: Treason pt.2**

"The accused Tali'Zorah vas Normandy has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason" Shiala said. Tali looked to Shepherd, as he was about to speak one of the admirals interrupted.

"Objection! A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters!" a Quarian in red and white said. The guy was loud and obnoxious, very similar to Udina, back on the Citadel. Shepherd leaned in to Tali.

"Rookie, who's the jack-off?" he asked.

"Admiral Zaal'Korris vas Quib Quib" Tali answered. "A suit-wetter of the highest order" Shepherd looked at her confused, he was not familiar with that term. "He wants to make peace with the geth, he even went as far as saying our exile was our own fault" Shepherd was surprised to hear this, there was actually a quarian willing to make peace with the geth, now he had heard everything.

"Interesting, wait, Quib Quib?" Shepherd asked with a raised brow.

Tali shook her head. "Don't ask, he will never stop" she said. Shala spoke up, getting their attention.

"Then you should not have declared Tali crew of the Normandy, Admiral Koris, by right as Tali's captain, Shepherd must stay" she said coolly.

Koris shook his head. "Objection withdrawn"

"Shepherd vas Normandy, your crewmember, Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?"

Shepherd walked up to the podium, Tali were little worried about Shepherd losing his temper, the spectre had a very short fuse, especially when it came to people he cared about and him picking a fight with the admirals was not what they needed. He promised to keep it under control, hopefully. "If it helps Tali, but in her heart she is Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the migrant fleet." He said. He then gazed at Koris. "I regret that her captain is forbidden to stand at her side today"

"Nobody has been forbidden from anything! It is simple…" A gruff voice spoke out angrily.

"Lie to them if you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect to be silent! The human is right!" a Quarian in grey said. Koris instantly shut up, Shepherd was impressed with the guy, strong voice, and a presence that said respects me, all the signs of a military man. The man was basically a rougher version of Hackett or Anderson.

"Who's this guy?" Shepherd asked.

"Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema, he's an old friend of my father, he is also leader of my chosen ship, the Neema" Tali explained. The two admirals continued to argue, Shepherd and Tali were starting to wonder when they going to get to the charges.

"Admirals, please. Shepherd willingness to represent Tali'Zorah is appreciated" Tali shook her head. _'I wonder how much it would be 'appreciated', if the rest of my people knew the truth about Wayne and me'._ Shala's voice shook her of her thoughts, it looked like now they were going get serious finally, Tali swallowed hard as the Admiral gazed at her.

"Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the fleet. What say you?" Shepherd spoke up.

"How could she bring parts to the fleet while serving on the Normandy?" he said. A new voice spoke up.

"To clarify, Shepherd, Tali isn't being accused bringing back entire units, only parts that could spontaneously reactivate." The voice said. Tali shuddered at her voice it was like ice on the spine, she never liked Xen, even as a child, she sensed something off about her. Like Koris, she too wanted to reunite with geth, but it wasn't as benevolent as Koris' wishes, she wanted to return the geth to servitude and like Koris, her dream was also crazy.

"But I would never send active geth to the fleet! Everything I sent was disabled and harmless! Tali pleaded.

"Then explain how the geth seized the lab ship where your father is working!" Koris said. The audience erupted in sounds of worry, and confusion. Garrus and Kaiden looked at each other.

"Order!" Shala said.

Tali's eyes widen "W-what are you talking about? W-what happened?" she asked distressed. The grumblings of the crowd grew even louder as Shala tried desperately to quit down the audience.

"I said order!" Shala said. The sounds died a little. Gerrel spoke up.

"As far as we can tell, Tali, the geth may have killed everyone on the Alarei…your father included."

"What? Keelah no…" she said.

Shepherd clenched his fist. "I thought Quarians valued family, how could you spring this on her in the middle her damn trial?!" Shepherd asked angrily.

"Our apologies. Tali should have been informed" Shala said.

"Wayne, we have to take back the Alarei" Tali said.

"The safest course would be to destroy the ship, but if you are looking for an honorable death instead of exile….." Tali glared at him.

"I'm looking for my father you bosh'tet!" she said angrily.

"You attend to retake the ship? This proposal is extremely dangerous" Shala said.

"With your permission admirals, yes the good of the fleet must come first and Tali needs to find her father"

"Agreed, and if die on this worthy mission, Tali, we'll see your name cleared of all charges." Gerrel said.

"We can discuss that later" Koris said.

"That won't happen, I'll make sure of it" Shepherd said with a frown. Gerrel chuckled.

"Well said"

"Then it is decided. You will attempt to retake the Alarei" Shala said. "You are hereby given leave; a shuttle will be waiting for you at the secondary docking hanger, be safe Tali, the hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action" Shepherd and Tali looked at one another. As the crowd dispersed, Tali and Shepherd walked to the others. Shepherd looked at Tali checking if she was okay, she looked very much shaken, if it was true that her father was dead, would she be able to go on? That was what he was worried about.

"Tali!" Lia said giving her a hug. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" she said

Shepherd grabbed her hand. "You sure? They were throwing heat your way" he said.

"Thank you, Wayne, the admirals sounded so sure, but…."

"I know, we'll fine him"

"So I guess next stop is the Alarei" Garrus said. "Let's do this"

"I'll stay here with Lia, good luck you guys" Kaiden said. The team nodded and went on their way. Tali met with Shala, she was very upset with her.

"You set me up Shala, you told Nakhoda Danna not to say anything! I don't hear about my father until the trial, why?!" She asked hurt.

Shala lowered her head. "I'm sorry child, the admirals need to hear the shock in your voice, otherwise they wouldn't let you take the ship back" she said. "That is your best chance; we can't afford sensitivity, Tali"

"You went too far, how…" Shepherd started. Tali put a hand on his shoulder and Shepherd looked at her. "But Tali…"

"It's alright, she's right" she said. "I don't like it, but she's right"

"There seem to be other argument other Tali's trial" Garrus said.

"You caught that. Yes, the geth presence make for a touchy issue" Shala said. "The board is determining to whether focus on colonial development and retaking the homeworld"

"You're thinking of war? With the geth?" Tali asked shocked. While she hated the geth very much, she was reluctant with war with geth, especially when they might need the fleet when the reapers finally show up. A war would complicate things.

"I'm not, but others are"

"That's a bad idea, the first time you barely escaped them" Garrus said. "Now, it would be a massacre"

"We grow tired of wondering the stars. We want our home back, we have paid enough for our mistakes" Shala said sadly. "I not giving you my opinion, just telling you which way the wind is blowing."

"I can understand that, wanting to go home" Shepherd said. "I lost everything to the batarians, you have my sympathy" Shala nodded.

"Good luck on the Alarei" she said. "Shepherd, please take care of Tali"

"I will"

Shepherd and the team took a shuttle from the Skaza to the Alarei. The Alarei was a small ship, even by Quarian standards, but like most ships in the Xen's science fleet they were the most advanced technology wise. As they entered the room they saw two Geth Troopers activate and start shooting. Tali hacked the troopers and they started to shot at each other. They were quickly reinforced by more Geth Troopers and Geth Hunters. The hunter came in close while the troopers were giving firing support. Garrus overloaded the hunter's shields as Tali summoned her drone behind it. The drone shocked the hunter, whittling it systems down; the hunter shoots Chatika and explodes taking the hunter with it. The troopers fired on Tali and Garrus locking them in cover, Shepherd froze one of the troopers and slammed it against the wall. Garrus went out of cover and finished the other one with his sniper rifle.

When the battle was done, they looked through logs, most were ordinary stuff, project budgets, personal logs, or extranet sites left open before the attack. Nothing of value as evidence for Tali's trial, until Garrus spoke up. "Tali, I think I found something" Tali and Shepherd went to Garrus' side and the turian played a log, in it was a quarian dressed in black and yellow.

"Something slowing the systems. We're taking down firewalls to re-balance load distribution" the log stated. "Rael'Zorah ordered us to bypass safeties; following security protocol would take too long"

"What does this mean?" Shepherd asked.

"I don't know there is not enough info to go on" she said. The team went into the next room with an inactive drone. Tali scanned the drone. "This one of the units I sent my father looks like parts from disable repair drone, plus a reflex algorithm that I don't recognize. I got this one Haestrom"

"Haestrom was a warzone, how did you salvage gear in all that?" Garrus asked.

Tali giggled a little. "These suits have more pockets than you think; we have learned to salvage whatever we can, whenever we can." She said. "Within reason, we're not Vorcha, we repair what people throw away."

"How did you get them to your father?" Shepherd asked.

"Sometimes I left drops in civilized areas, anyone on Pilgrimage would see it and help ship it home" she said. "It had to be in working order, and be able to integrate into other technology, anything new had priority, and technology the geth had developed, or modified, to give us clues to their thanking"

"Does this thing help?"

"No. I don't know, Wayne, I checked everything I sent here" Tali said. "I passed up great finds, because I thought they were too dangerous, or prone to self-repair and reactivation" She lowered her head. "I don't know which is worse, I got sloppy, or father did this"

"You'll get through this, and if we find your dad, he can explain this" Shepherd said grabbing her hand. Tali smiled. As they went down the hall, they heard sounds of battle.

"What the hell?" Garrus asked. "Survivors?"

"It looks like it" Shepherd said.

"We have to hurry" Tali said. The team ran down the hall. They saw a lone quarian in a green and red suit fighting the geth. The man went out of cover and fired taking down three geth troopers all head shots, and impressive display. However things changed when more geth stated to flood the room, and soon he would be flanked. The team went to join the battle; Tali summoned her drone to draw their fire as Shepherd sprayed the geth with SMG. Two troopers took their place and fired on them, Chatika intercepted the troopers and stunned them letting Shepherd lifted them up with a singularity field, while Garrus gave sniper support. Four more troopers fell thanks to the quarian sabotaging their weapons. A shot whizzed by the quarian's head, it was geth hunter getting closer to him, the quarian over loaded the hunter's shields and fired a concussive round into the chest of the hunter causing it fall. Before it could get up, the quarian blasted the hunter's head with a shotgun blast, finishing the fight.

The quarian got up and approached Shepherd, the spectre took a look at him, his suit looked ragged meaning he was fighting the geth for a while and he was the only survivor. From the way he walked, it carried an air of confidence and command, definitely the leader. "You human, what are you doing on the ship?" he asked. He gazed at Garrus as he approached the two men. "And a turian too?"

"The board said we could retake the Alarei" Garrus said.

"Why would they…?"

"We're here to help our friend; she's being tried for treason" Shepherd said. "Retaking it can clear her"

His eyes widen. "Tell me who is your…." Before he could finish, Tali spoke up, as she approached them. Her arms were crossed, waiting for an explanation.

"Hello Ayah"

_**Nakhoda: Captain**_

_**Ayah: Father**_

_**Uh-oh! Looks like Rael is going to get it. And how will he react to daddy's little girl's supposedly dead human boyfriend. Review and comment. **_


	36. Chapter 28: Treason pt3

**Chapter 28: Treason pt. 3**

Tali looked at her father, he was alive, part of her was glad, although she had wish throttle him for everything. However this was not the time. "Tali…" Rael said. Tali took a deep breath trying to keep her emotions together, she had so many questions.

"What is going on here, Ayah?" Tali asked. "Why are the geth here? What have you done?"

Rael turned his back. "Getting our home back" he simply said.

She looked at the dead quarian, not far from them. "How? By killing our people?" Tali asked angrily. Rael shook his head.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this" he said. "The plan was to use the geth consensus as a weapon"

"Wait, how?" Garrus asked.

"Your pilgrimage gift, Tali, was more helpful to our people than you think, with it we had a deeper understanding of how the geth worked" Rael said. "And then we had a thought, what if we could use the geth consensus against them, like scrambling the data they received from each other, thus turning them against each other or collapse it, destroying them for the inside"

"W-what?" Tali asked. "Is that why you wanted me to go the Haestrom?"

"Yes, but, we needed an intact geth" Rael said. "Since you couldn't bring them back whole, I told you to bring back parts so we could rebuild it here"

"No…this can't be…" Tali slid to the floor, reeling from the explanation. She had thought they were going to use the parts to repair the ships, or improve the fleet's defenses, the truth was too hard swallow, her own father used her. All those dead on Haestrom, and the dead on the Alarei was because of her father, and by extension her. It was her fault this all happened, Shepherd came to her side and helped her up, he then glared at Rael.

"Bastard, you almost got your daughter killed!" Shepherd growled. "She going to be exiled for your damned mistakes"

"Why? Why risk the safety of the fleet for this?" Garrus asked angrily.

"Because I promised her mother" Rael said. Tali looked at him. "I promised her that I would build a house for Tali, I did for our family."

"What family?" Tali asked. She glared at her father, and all of a sudden the memories of her childhood came flooding back. "All of the sudden, you care about our family? You who couldn't even be bothered see your own wife on her deathbed!"

"Tali…I…"

"How dare you use my mother as way to justify this…this abomination!" She growled. "Because of your actions, I may never see our home again!"

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry" Rael said. Tali felt a pain in her gut when she heard that, he was sorry? It was too little too late, he had years to be a better father and he wasted on his duties. Sorry wasn't going to bring back the dead, sorry wasn't going to stop the other admirals from exiling her, and sorry was definitely not going to stop this feeling of betrayal.

"So am I" she said.

"How do we stop this?" Shepherd asked.

"Their hub will be on the bridge. If you destroy it, their VI processes will stop forming new neural links."

Tali looked to Garrus and Shepherd and walked passed her father. If she was going to be exiled, the least she could do, is stop the madness her father released onto the fleet. "Let's go"

Rael grabbed her arm. "Wait where are you going?" he asked.

Tali pulled her arm away. "To clean up your mess" she said coldly.

As they enter the next room, geth flooded the door downstairs. Since the room they were in was very small compared to previous rooms, maneuvering proved to be difficult, so the team decided to keep the geth pinned down the stairs. Tali hacked the first one to enter the room and the geth in returned fired on its former ally. Garrus overloaded the enemies shield and pelted them with rounds from his assault rifle.

Shepherd lifted them with a singularity field and froze them; they shattered as they slammed into each other and the wall. When they were down, the geth came from the balcony from the side, making them switch cover. It was a geth rocket trooper, and it fired wildly at the team, bad news for the already damaged Alarei and the team inside. Tali summoned Chatika behind the rocket trooper, leaving it open to gun fire from Shepherd and Garrus. As the team walked through the ship, they found more and more logs of fallen Quarians, along with bodies. The most heartbreaking was a log of a female quarian, right before she was killed she gave a heartfelt goodbye to her son, Jona, telling him to be strong and take care of her father. It was similar to what her mother told her on her deathbed.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered. Tali felt a hand on her shoulder.

"How are you holding up, Tali?" Shepherd said concerned.

She shook her head. "All of this, all to give me a house on the homeworld, and it's my fault"

"It's not your fault, Tali, all you were doing was helping your people, and your father used your loyalty that is all"

"I should have questioned him more, I should do something, but I let this happen" She said. "I should have joined you on Freedom's Progress, if I did, maybe …"

"I don't think, that would have changed anything, I have a feeling that even without you, this would have happened" Garrus said. "We're not going to let blame yourself for something your father did"

"Thank you, you two, but it was my father that did this, my responsibility…" she said.

Just beyond the door were the hub, and the cause of all the problems if they could get to it all of this would be over. But in the way were three troopers, two geth hunters and a Geth prime, they didn't seem to notice. Shepherd and Tali overloaded their shields while Garrus knocked down the first hunter with a concussive shot. The prime fired at the team and took cover, while the second hunter tried to flank the team. Shepherd took out his arch projector and fired at geth. Tali then hacked the hunter. With the geth were fighting each other, Garrus shot the first hunter's head causing it beep and explode. Shepherd finished the fight by lifting the hunter and prime up and blasting them with a warp causing a biotic explosion. After the battle was over, Shepherd and team went to the hub.

"This console is linked to the main hub Ay-Rael mentioned. Disabling it shuts down any geth we missed." She said. "It looks like some of the recording remained intact. They'll tell us what they did" Tali opened her omni-tool, but then hesitated.

"You sure about this?" Shepherd asked.

"No, but we have to. It's just as much as I am angry at him, part of me doesn't want to know he was a part of this" She took a deep breath and opened the logs; it showed her father and other Quarians.

"Do we have enough parts to bring online?" Rael said.

"Yes, the new shipment from your daughter will let us add to more geth to the network"

"We're nearing a breakthrough, Admiral; perhaps we should contact the Admiralty Board, just to be safe"

"No we're too close. I promised my wife and daughter a house on the homeworld. I'm not going to sit and wait while the politicians argue." He said.

"We have an easier time of it if Tali'Zorah could send back more working materials"

"Absolutely not, I don't want Tali exposed from any political blowback" Rael said. "Leave her out of this, assemble the new geth with what we have, bypass security if need be" When the log was over, the real Rael spoke up. "Now you know everything…"

"You deliberately networked the geth to sapience to do these tests!" Tali said "You broke our most sacred laws, laws that predate our flight from our homeworld" she shook her head. "When this comes up…"

"I know…" Rael said. "I would be stripped from all the records and exiled; it would be like I never existed, but I had to do this, I did this for you and Ziva…"

"Why? You think I want this, or mom would want this?!" She asked angrily in tears. "To see you reduced to this, a traitor, a monster to our people!"

"No" he said. "Which is why you should give the evidence to the Board"

"So you can leave Tali holding the bag as the daughter of a war criminal" Shepherd said angrily. "To spend the rest of her life cleaning up your mess"

"It is the only way, without this data, Tali is facing exile" he said.

"No, you're not going take the easy way out" Shepherd said.

Rael looked at Shepherd as he walked to the hub. "What do you mean?" Shepherd pressed a few buttons and the logs were deleted.

"You get to stay on as a member of the board" Shepherd said "In return you will vote against the war with the geth, and you will vote for colonizing a new world"

"But…" Shepherd raised his hand.

"It's better than Tali being the last Quarian, because of your foolish mistake" Shepherd said. "Its hard work, but at least your people won't die like dogs" Rael was taken aback, to see an alien go so far to make sure his daughter didn't suffer for his mistake. It was almost unheard of.

"Thank you, human" Rael said.

"Don't even think I'm doing this for you, I'm doing this because I can't stand to see Tali hurt" he said. "Let's go"

Shepherd and team return to the Skaza. While walking to the plaza, they discover the admirals believing them to be dead and ready to pronounce judgment in absentia, even though it had been an hour at most since they left. The team walked in to the plaza, as they walked in the crowd gasped as they saw the supposedly dead Rael, walking with them, even the Admirals were surprised to see one of their own alive much less a survivor.

"Sorry we're late" Tali said.

Shala stood up. "Keelah, Rael you're alive, how…"

"Shepherd and Tali saved me from the geth" he said weakly. "The Alarei is safe"

"You didn't waste time declaring us dead, I see" Shepherd said with a frown.

"Apologies, Shepherd, your success was… unexpected" Gerrel said.

The spectre snorted. "I bet" Shepherd said.

"Did you find evidence on the Alarei?" Shala asked.

"Yeah, Tali's achievements are the only evidence you should need. Come on Tali, we're leaving" Shepherd said as turned to walk away. The crowds started to murmur surprised that an alien would just outright defy the Admirals, the Admirals looked stunned as Normandy team began walking.

"What?!"

"This is a formal proceeding!" Koris said outraged.

Shepherd walked back and pointed at the Admirals. "Fuck you! This whole thing is a joke! None of you care for Tali! He looked at Koris. "You're trying to build sympathy for the geth to stall the war effort!"

"T-that's completely…"

He then gazed at Gerrel. "And you want all the messy experiments covered up so you can throw your fleet at the geth!"

"I…I…"

Shepherd started to glow. "Do whatever you want with your toy ships, but leave my crew out of your political bullshit!" Shepherd said angrily. "And yes I said my crew, because you don't deserve her, you can accept Tali's word or you can exile the woman who saved the galaxy from Sovereign and the geth, who proved how valuable the quarian people are to the galaxy!" The crowd was so moved by this alien, this stranger's passionate support of Tali'Zorah that one by one the crowed stood up roaring in support of Tali, the Admirals looked nervous. Shala desperately banged on the posts trying to get the crowd to settle down.

"Order!" Shala said. "I will have order" The crowd quieted down. "Are the admirals ready to render judgment?"

Tali looked down expecting the worst. "Tali'Zorah in light of your history of service, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges" Tali eyes went wide as she heard the verdict, her legs felt weak, Shepherd actually did it. Her father's sin would forever be a secret and she wouldn't be exiled. "Commander Shepherd, please accept our appreciation and our apology"

"I didn't defend one of you, I defended one of mine"

"So you did, Shepherd"

"This hearing is concluded. Go in peace Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah Se'lai" The crowd dispersed.

Tali ran to Shepherd and hugged him. "I can't believe you pulled that off. What you said…"

"I meant every word" Tali hugged him. Kaiden, Garrus, and Lia came to them all happy with the verdict. Lia came hugging Tali as the two women laughed.

"Congrats, Tali" Kaiden said. He smirked. "Nice work Wayne I think they pissed their suits"

Shepherd smirked. "I try" Rael came up to them. "What do you want?"

"Shepherd can I speak to you alone?" he asked. Shepherd looked at the rest of the team and nodded. The team went to the ship.

"We're alone, what do you want?"

"Thank you for what you did for my daughter" he said.

Shepherd frowned. "A little late to be caring about her now, don't you think?"

"I did this for her! I wanted to…"

"Bullshit! All Tali wanted was her father, you! And you twisted her loyalty for your damn tests!" he said angrily. "If it wasn't for Tali, I'd kill you myself!"

He walked away. Rael spoke up. "Wait; tell me, what is my daughter to you?" He asked.

"I love her, with all of my heart" Shepherd said. Rael looked him with wide eyes. "She deserves better" He walked away.

"I know, Shepherd, please take care of her" Rael said. "I am the only family she has left"

"Not the only family" Shepherd said. "She has the Normandy crew, she has me"

He walked away leaving the lone Quarian with his shame.

_Tali'Zorah has been cleared of all charges, and her trust in Shepard ensures her loyalty on the mission. Political ramifications of quarian war efforts against geth are troubling. Likely to need quarian forces against Reapers. Cannot risk additional instability. -_ _Mission Summary_

_**Ayah: Father**_


	37. Chapter 29: Hardened

**Chapter 29: Hardened**

Shepherd and team were back on board on the Normandy, about to leave the Valhallan Threshold and the Migrant Fleet. Although they were successful in getting Tali cleared, it wasn't without its pain. The quarian was very silent since the ride back, no doubt thinking about what her father did. Tali spoke up. "I'm going to engineering, have some work to do…" Tali began to walk away until Shepherd grabbed her arm.

"You sure Rookie?" Shepherd asked. Tali smiled softly and put her hand on Shepherd's.

"I'm fine Wayne, a little work will keep my mind of stuff" Shepherd gave her a look of concern, not really convinced. "Don't worry, I'll be fine"

Shepherd sighed and let her go. "Okay, but if you need anything, call me…" Tali nodded and went to elevator.

"Onii-chan, I'll look after Tali for you" Lia said.

Shepherd nodded. "Thanks kid" Lia went to the elevator, and Shepherd faced Garrus and Kaiden. "Well back to the grind"

The team scattered. Garrus went back to his quarters to calibrate the guns, ever since they installed the Thanix Cannon for the Normandy, Gabby and Donnelly have complained about the extra work load they had to do to the systems. Garrus went to the terminal, and pressed a few buttons, the turian frowned. The engineer's work on the systems lowered the accuracy ratio on the guns, and he had to set up all over again. Garrus typed on the terminal and it beeped, guns were all good…until Gabby and Donnelly complain about something else. The turian cracked his neck; he was getting hungry, as he was walking the crew quarters for his rations until his omni-tool beeped.

"Huh?" Garrus looked at his omni-tool and saw he got a message, the sender unknown. Garrus snorted. "Probably another ad for enlarging a sexual organ" For the life of him, he'll never understand some of the scams these marketers put out, still it was strange for a message to not have sender name. And once more it was encrypted, an easy thing to past, Garrus opened the message and his eyes went wide.

'I heard you were looking for a man named Sidonis, if you want him look for Fade on the Citadel'

Garrus frowned. "Sidonis…" he growled.

_**Months ago-Omega Kenzo District**_

"_And I win another game suckers!" A human said with a smirk. The Salarian and Batarian threw down their cards in frustration as the human man gleefully claimed his spoils. These were Garrus' men hours before that fateful event. "Better luck next time, boys!" Alexander Butler, was a human biotic and all around smart ass, sure his mouth could get him in trouble with the team, but push comes to shove he was loyal to the group. He joined the group because he wanted a better life for his wife and daughter, his pride and joy on this hellhole station._

_The salarian crossed his arms. "That's seven games in a row, how the hell does he do it?" Slurek, was a former merc working for Eclipse before joining the group, he was loyal to Eclipse until he saw his group making deals with terrorists for more cash. Disgusted by how low his group would go for extra credits, he quit the group, but not before killing every single member of his former team. Slurek was the foremost expert on explosives in the group._

_The batarian snorted. "I think he's cheating…" Braz, a former tech officer for the Hegemony until his conscience had gotten the better of him. He was one of the batarians that attacked Eden Prime during the Skylian Blitz, killing and taking people as slaves for profit until while looking for more victims came across an infant crying, a little boy, the slave market would pay top credits for infants. But something happened, for the first time he felt guilt, so he took the infant and defected from the Batarian government. At first, Garrus was reluctant recruiting him to his group, but when he saw Braz saving the life of his adopted son and several people; it put his worries to rest._

"_Don't need to cheat, you guys just suck at poker" Alex said. He looked at the krogan cleaning his shotgun. "Zorbac, care for a game big guy?"_

_Zorbac scoffed. "Unless that game consists of cracking skulls, leave me out of it" He went back to his shotgun. Urdnot Zorbac the team's resident muscle, and the team loner, the krogan was a bounty hunter in his past, it was less about the money and more about the fight. However things changed when he was fighting members of the Blue Suns, he had gotten too cocky and was surrounded by YMIR mechs, until Garrus' crew helped him out. After the battle, Garrus offered membership but Zorbac refused until he was promised a good fight._

"_We'll take you on" Two asari came up to the table. Oya and Rena T'Koa, the biotic twins, former asari commandos they were actually the easiest to recruit, they were like Garrus they had gotten tired of the red tape the Asari government had and went to Omega to change things. Of the two Oya was the one with the hot-blooded one, in contrast to the more reserved Rena. _

"_Count us in also" A drell and quarian came up to the table. Kila Raos, was the security consultant for a hanar ambassador on the citadel until he was framed for the murder of his client, a fugitive in Citadel space he went to Omega to escape persecution where he became a bouncer for Afterlife. One day, some Vorcha thought it would be a good idea to cause trouble, and they were shot in the head for their trouble, by Kila's sniper rifle. Impressed by his skill, Garrus offered him a spot on the team. _

_Lez'Vanya nar Omega was born on the station, her mother was Anora'Vanya vas Selani, exiled for giving sensitive defense schematics to batarians who had been contracted to upgrade the Flotilla's defense systems, but the batarians shared the schematics with a pirate gang, jeopardizing the Flotilla's security. Before she could be convicted, Anora'Vanya destroyed the pirate gang in a suicide attack, and was posthumously pardoned by the Admiralty Board. Little did the fleet know, Anora survived and seeing that she had nothing left from her old life, she built a new one on Omega, only to killed by a crazed quarian hating serial killer. Her daughter went to avenge her death and was found Garrus when Lez came close to being killed, from then on she stayed on the group's communication specialist due to her skill with tech._

"_Now this is getting fun" Alex said. He then saw Garrus walking to the out of their base. "Hey, Batman care for a game?" Garrus sighed and looked at him, it was Alex's little nickname for him, apparently after some kind character from a book on Earth._

"_Do you have to call me that?" he asked annoyed._

"_No, but it's fun"_

_Garrus shook his head. "Whatever, can't Sidonis called, he got a lead on the Blood Pack" he said. "Once I get conformation, we hit their operation tonight"_

_Reina looked at him. "Blood Pack? Care for some back up?" she asked._

"_No, if things go bad, Sidonis and I should be able to deal with it, stand-by for now" Garrus left to meet Sidonis. Lantar Sidonis was Garrus' second in command and the first person to join his team. They had met shortly after arriving on Omega, he found Sidonis in one of the lower levels of Afterlife, being beaten by an angry krogan affiliated with the Blood Pack. Garrus stepped in to help, and the two of them fight off the remaining mercs. Afterward, the two of them decide to form a team to fight off the gangs. After building their team, they significantly drop Omega's crime rate. Garrus went to an alley way in the Himlen district, a huge district near the slums, when he got there he waited for Sidonis, and waited and waited, but Sidonis never showed up._

"_Well this was a waste of time" Garrus said about to get up. A shot rang out, and to the left and right of him were blue sun troopers. "Blue suns? What are they doing here?" They fired again, and Garrus ducked backed into the alley, when one of the mercs turned the corner Garrus let loose a round into one of their heads. The suns kept flooding the way firing at the turian, as time went by he found himself further away from where he started, it was because he was being led away. The alley was like on big maze and every corner had a squad of blue sun mercs waiting for him. It would be several hours until he could make it out of the maze and lose the blue suns. He took a shuttle back to find the base damaged and ransacked, a big battle had took place. When he got to the main area, his went wide. "No…"_

_Bodies were everywhere, mostly the blue suns, and not only that the bodies of Reina and Kila, multiple shots to the chest, with battle so intense the rest of the team couldn't get aid to them fast enough and they bled out. He went up the stairs and saw Sulreck draped across the ledge of the balcony, shot in the head. "Shit they made this far up…." In the living quarters, Zorbec and Lez were sprawled against the floor, it looked like they were first ones killed, and by sniper. The living quarters was by far the worst as he saw burn marks everywhere too big for heavy weapons, but not for gunships. In the center of the burned area, was Alex, Braz, and Oya, mutilated by somekind of machine fire, the turian shook his head, how did they take out their team so easily. Then Garrus had a sickening thought, where was Sidonis? All this death and his second in command was nowhere to be seen. Garrus opened his omni-tool to contact Sidonis, and all he got was message say 'NO SIGNAL', Garrus frowned he was either dead or the signal was blocked. As he was about to contemplate the possibly of a betrayal, he heard a large mechanical whirl and a gunship was staring him in the face. _

"_Fuck…" He would have to figure this out later._

_**Now**_

Garrus gave a dark grin, he didn't know if this was real, but if it was he had a chance to avenge his men and pay an old friend back for his betrayal. "Chambers"

"Yes, Garrus?"

"Get Shepherd, I need to see him…"


	38. Chapter 30: Eye for an Eye pt1

**Chapter 30: Eye for an eye pt. 1**

Shepherd was in his cabin reading an old book he picked up on Illium, he's never been an avid reader not even in his youth. But there was something soothing about losing yourself in another world, a happier world even if it wasn't real. "Onii-chan, can I come in?" Lia asked as he knocked on the door. Shepherd dropped his reading and came to the door.

"What's up, Lia?" Shepherd asked. Something was wrong, the usually chipper quarian lowered her head, he had never seen her worried before.

"It's about Tali" she said. "I'm worried about her" Shepherd looked at her, having a concerned look on his face. "She's been working very hard." Shepherd just chuckled lightly; he thought it was something serious; Tali's had always been a hard worker.

"Is that all?" Shepherd asked. "Tali have always been like that" Lia shook her head.

"It's not the same, there is no joy or passion when does" she said. "She's running herself ragged; Donnelly said that if she doesn't relax she's going to collapse from exhaustion." Shepherd frowned, now it was serious.

"Okay, I'll speak to her, thanks kid" Shepherd said. Shepherd and Lia went down to engineering, when he was down there he met with Gabby and Donnelly waiting outside of the room, they too with worried expressions on their face. Shepherd told them to wait outside and went in where he saw Tali working hard on the terminal. "Hey, rookie"

"Sorry, Wayne, can't speak now, need to balance the core's output" she said moving around. "Need to make sure the Normandy can handle all these upgrades" Shepherd looked at the terminal; it was all green across the board. He looked at Tali.

"Didn't you do that just before we hit the collectors' ship?" Shepherd asked.

"Never hurts to double-check, after all lives are at stake" Tali said. "Got to make sure, their lives aren't at risk…." Shepherd lowered his head, it's been several days since meeting her father on the Alarei and still she was thinking about what happened. Shepherd put his hand on Tali's shoulder.

"This is about your father isn't it?" Shepherd asked softly. Tali stopped and started sobbing. Shepherd wrapped his arms around her. Tali hugged him tightly, letting everything go.

"All that death, all because…" she said as she sobbed.

"I know…" Shepherd said. "It's not your fault; you can't work yourself to death, just because of him" He looked at her; even with the mask he could tell she hadn't been getting any rest. Her movements were slowed, and her eyes didn't shine as brightly through her mask. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?"

Tali's head was on Shepherd's shoulder as she grabbed his waist. "I can't…every time I close my eyes, I see those killed from the logs…blaming me" she said shakily. "It's my fault…my fault…"

"Shh…It's not your fault" he said. "I refuse to let you blame yourself for what Rael did, you're stronger than this"

"I…Thank you" She said. Shepherd kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes.

"Good, now get some rest" he said. "Captain's orders" Tali nodded and went to their cabin. "You three can come out now" Donnelly, Gabby and Lia came out.

"Thank you commander, we were getting worried for the lass" Donnelly said. Gabby and Lia nodded.

"We'll pick up her jobs, while she rest" Gabby said. "Leave it to us" They all saluted and got to work, Shepherd com then beeped.

"What is it, Kelly?" Shepherd asked.

"Garrus would like to see you, he's been quite agitated" she said.

"Ok" Shepherd went to meet Garrus in his quarters. Kelly was right she said that he was agitated as he was pacing up and down his quarters. "You needed to see me?"

"Yeah, I've finally tracked him down"

"Who?" Shepherd asked.

"Lantar Sidonis, he was my second in command of my team during my stay on Omega" The way Garrus growled his name was nothing short of venom. As long as he known Garrus, he's been very laid back, but seeing him now, vengeful and murderous Shepherd had to know what happened. "He's dead, Shepherd, he's a dead man…"

"What did he do?"

"You know that situation I was in? It's all because of him…Sidonis called me said that he had a lead on the blood pack, little did I know it was to lure me away from the base" He said. "The blue suns attacked me, when I got away my whole team was dead…"

"How are you going to find him?"

"There's a specialist on the Citadel, name's Fade. He's an expert at helping people disappear. Sidonis was probably his client" Garrus said. "I'll force him to find him, even if I have to beat him within an inch of his life"

"Whoa, I'm almost afraid to ask what you going to do with Sidonis" Shepherd said slightly taken aback.

"You humans have a saying: "an eye for an eye" a life for a life" Garrus said. "He owes me eight, and I plan to collect"

"An eye for an eye also leaves the world blind, Garrus" he said "You sure about this?"

"I'm sure, look I don't need you to agree, but I'd like your help"

Shepherd sighed "Alright, I'll help" he said.

"Thanks, boss I appreciate this" Shepherd went to his cabin to get ready, he looked back at Garrus, he really hoped he didn't regret this. The Normandy landed on the Citadel, as the shuttle flew in to the docks, he saw the Wards looking little better than when they were there earlier. The shuttle landed and Shepherd and Garrus got out, it was time to find this Fade person though they didn't know where to start looking first. EDI spoke up.

"I've found references to Fade in C-sec's crime reports, Shepherd. That would be the best place to look" she said. The team went to C-sec to meet with Bailey, as they entered, they saw C-sec officers struggling with a human they had in custody, and from the looks of his behavior he was high off of red sand.

"You can't fucking do this, you fucking fascists, I got my rights!" he yelled. Bailey came up to the man and punched him in gut, knocking him out.

"And you have the right to shut the hell up, get him cleaned up and we'll start the interrogation" His men saluted and carried off the unconscious man into the other room. Bailey looked at Shepherd and Garrus and walked over to him. "Shepherd, it's been a long time" Bailey greeted.

"I'm looking for Fade" Shepherd said.

"Straight to business, huh?" Bailey asked. "Yeah I know him, the alias anyway. He's been a thorn in the Network division's side for the last year. He works with the blue suns"

"Where can we find him?" Garrus asked.

Bailey sighed. "If I knew that, he'd be in a cell, best I can do is put you on his trail" he said. "There's a warehouse in the marketplace. Some of Fade's contacts work out of there. Go ask them some questions, gently of course"

"Of course, if they give me answers" Garrus said walking away.

"Is he going to be a problem, I don't want more problems than we already have" he said.

"Don't worry about it" Shepherd said. "Why haven't you been able to catch him?"

He scoffed. "Whoever he is, he's damned good at avoiding C-sec. I think someone on the inside is feeding him information." He shook his head. "Either that or he's got access to our databases and com channels, I don't which is worse, but you're outside of C-sec, maybe you can nail his ass"

"Maybe, see you later"

They went down to the Shipping Warehouse on Level 26. "This looks like the place, the forgers thugs should be inside" Garrus said. They went in the warehouse, where they met a volus with two krogan bodyguards. The krogan came forward in a threating manner, Shepherd looked at volus although he never took his eyes of the krogan, especially one in the brown armor on the left, and he looked a bit twitchy.

"Fade? You're not quite how I imaged you" Shepherd said.

"Looks can be deceiving" he said. "So…which one of you wants to disappear?"

"I rather see you make someone reappear" Garrus said.

"Ah…that's not the service we provide" the volus said nervously.

"Make an exception. Just this once" he said getting to his gun out.

"Damn it. Quick…shoot them! Shoot them, you lumbering mountains!" The krogan try to get their weapons out, but Shepherd and Garrus gunned them down. The krogan fell in a pool of their orange blood and then they focused back on the volus.

"Too slow" Shepherd said.

The volus sighed. "Why do I even bother?"

"Shut it" Garrus said. The turian crouched down and grabbed his suit with his gun pointed at him. "We need to find a client of yours, cooperate or you'll be joining them"

"I would do it, my friend is very pissed off" Shepherd said.

"Wait…I'm not the one you want to. I'm not Fade" the volus said alarmed.

"I knew it was too good to be true"

"Well maybe you can tell us" Garrus said. "Talk now"

"Y-yes, of course. He's in the factory district, works out of an old prefab foundry"

"I know the place"

"Uh…he's got a lot of mercs…Blue suns. Harkin thinks they're protecting him."

The spectre frowned, he remembered that lowlife when he was finding evidence against Saren. He was one of the first human C-Sec officers. According to Captain Anderson, who describes Harkin as "a disgrace to the species", his was not an illustrious career. During his 20 years in C-Sec, he was known for roughing up suspects in custody, taking bribes, and abusing drugs and alcohol. The embassy used to intervene when he got in trouble, for fear that it would damage humanity's reputation if he were dismissed. "Harkin? What does that jack-off have to do with anything?" Shepherd asked. "And what does the Blue sun have to do with this?"

"He's…uh Fade" the volus explained. "They use his services…to help their people to infiltrate businesses and various organizations here on the citadel"

"Bastard. He's using C-Sec to help those scum" Garrus growled.

"No, no, no. Well not really" the volus said. "He got fired from C-sec a while ago. But he knows the systems"

Shepherd crossed his arms. "So being douche finally bit him in the ass, how surprising…" he said sarcastically.

"Interesting. But it changes nothing. We still need to find him before we get to Sidonis" Garrus said.

"Right, that asshole needs a good talking to"

Garrus snorted. "Talk all you want. I'll be too busy giving his kidneys a friendly kicking" he said. "We should get to the transit station"

"So I…I can go?" the volus asked.

"Sure, you can go, but if we don't find Harkin, we'll be back for you"

"Oh good" he said deadpanned. When they left the warehouse they took a shuttle over to the factory district. The district was huge, a winding maze of storage boxes and machinery, how anyone could miss this especially C-sec was anyone's guess. The shuttle landed and Garrus and Shepherd got out and walked to the entrance. They meet Harkin and two Blue Suns troopers. Harkin paled as his eyes went wide as he saw them, especially Shepherd.

"Shepherd?" Harkin asked. He takes a step back fearfully. "Y-you're dead!"

"I get that a lot" Shepherd said with a smirk. "What, no welcome back, Harkin? I'm hurt, really"

"Don't just stand there…stop them. Stop them!" While the Blue suns got their weapons out, Harken like the coward he was, flees deeper into the district.

Run all you want, Harkin! We'll find you!" Garrus growled. The two troopers opened fired and the duo took cover. Shepherd froze one of them with his cryo blast; Garrus shatter him with a concussive shot. Seeing how outclassed he was the other merc tried to run, but he didn't get far as he was gunned down by Garrus. They moved deeper in to the district fighting more mercs and LOKI mechs. Due to the machinery and storage boxes, the blue suns loved to use ambushes to catch them off-guard, it was also hard for Garrus to get a clear shot for sniping as they also had lots of cover. Shepherd had to admit, he was impressed by the Blue Suns location, it was a tactically good location but did have its flaws. Shepherd's singularity lifted up the mercs and a canister, Garrus shot the canister, causing an explosion.

"Harkin's in here somewhere. I can smell him" Garrus growled.

"Keep your head on straight, Garrus" Shepherd warned.

"Don't worry; I've come too far to mess up now" Shepherd said lowering the gate.

They moved across and took cover behind the crates and use the elevated cover to hit them from the top. LOKI Mechs dropped from the ceiling and even more come from the shipping container on the right. Shepherd overloaded the mechs while the Garrus blasted their heads off. On top of all that there are some Blue Suns that just don't seem to get the message that they couldn't be stopped and open fire. Shepherd used his singularity field and Garrus pushed them of the ledges with concussive shots.

"We need reinforcements, they're tearing us apart" one of them said before a bullet went through his skull.

"We're getting closer" Garrus said. This next area more LOKI Mechs emerged, they were reinforced by Blue Suns Troopers, a Blue Suns Commander, and YMIR Mechs. They were also reinforced with four engineers that then summoned their drones; the duo was looking a formidable obstacle.

"Shit" Garrus cursed.

"Get down" Shepherd said. He got out his Cain while Garrus took cover. While the spectre charged the cannon the mercs fired at him, luckily Shepherd's tech armor was enough to protect him. And then the heavy mech was charging his missile launcher.

"Uh, Boss? I think you to hurry now" Garrus said.

The Cain beeped and fired.


	39. Chapter 31: Eye of an Eye pt2

**Chapter 31: Eye for an eye pt. 2**

The Cain beeped and fired. The recoil knocked Shepherd back, but the bright sphere of light flew at high speeds for the blue suns. The mercs scattered to get away from the blast, but were too slow as it impacted. What followed was bright light and loud explosion as the blast grew bigger demolishing everything in its path. Even the mighty heavy mech was not safe as the blast broke its shields and stripped off its armor, the duo heard a second explosion probably from all the mechs blowing up as they heard more scream. When the light cleared, nothing was left but a black scorched area, broken mech parts and a few dead mercs. After dealing with the rest of the Blue suns, they entered an office. Garrus was close to his goal and he would not let, slime like Harkin get in his way, Sidonis would pay for his men's lives.

"Harkin has done well for himself" Shepherd said.

"Being a criminal tends do that" Garrus said. "But I'm in no mood for his bullshit" Garrus said as he opened the shutter. "Now what the hell is he up to?" Garrus scanned the area intensely.

"You seem to be getting tense, Garrus"

"Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear" Garrus said. "If so, he may know we're here and I don't want Harkin tipping him off" As the two talked, they saw something in the distance, they then quickly took cover.

"Did you see that?"

"I saw something" Shepherd said.

"He's getting ready for us" Garrus said. "I say we don't disappoint them"

"Got it" Shepherd said.

Shepherd and Garrus got out of the office and made their way to Harkin's office. Harkin spoke up on the com.

"Why don't you turn around, Garrus, before you get hurt?" LOKI Mechs on the ground floor started to fire and were reinforced Blue Suns Troopers on the upper level left. Since Shepherd couldn't reach the troopers, Shepherd used dominate on the troopers and they started firing on each other. Garrus looked on as the trooper gunned each other down and then looked at Shepherd.

"What the hell…?" Garrus asked.

"Samara thought me"

"Impressive"

After the initial wave there more LOKI Mechs and more Blue Suns Troopers came out. A LOKI Mechs attempted to flank them, but Garrus pushed it back with a concussive shot. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift the troopers out of cover and froze them. Shepherd then shattered them with his pistol. Two blue sun heavies took their fallen allies place, firing rockets at the duo.

"How about another hack, boss?"

"Can't, tires me out…"

Garrus groaned as he took his sniper rifle. He ducked back into cover when one of the heavies fired, he aimed and took out the first one by headshot. The second heavy mech fired at Garrus and the rocket hit the turian dead on, if it wasn't for his shield upgrade, that hit would have hurt a lot. Shepherd fired at the heavy, but the merc duck behind cover, Shepherd glowed blue and used his throw field. The throw field curved around cover and hit the heavy in the side causing him fall of the ledge on to the floor. As the merc tried to get up, Shepherd finished him with a bullet to the head from his pistol. Once the battle ends they start climbing the platforms, Harkin spoke over the PA system.

"You're never getting in here, Garrus"

"He sure likes to talk" Shepherd said.

"People are the most talkative when they're desperate" Garrus said "Harkin's going to regret this" A loud whirling was heard; the turian then looked up and saw two big white masses. "Aw crap. Two heavy mechs…incoming"

"Do you really think you can take me down?" Harkin asked.

"I got this" Shepherd said.

Before the mechs could drop, Shepherd froze them both with his stasis field and got out his Cain, he only had one shot left; he had to make it count. He pulled the trigger and the resulting blast pushed the two back. When the light subsided, the mech parts started raining to the ground where they landed with a heavy thud. Once the YMIR mechs are down, they move up close to the office and Harkin then raised the six platforms in front of where he is hiding.

"I'm tired of these games, Harkin!" Garrus growled.

They climbed up to his position by the platforms. His final defenders were two LOKI Mechs on the top level and they start walking down to them. Shepherd and Garrus just overloaded the mechs and got to the door. As Shepherd moves into position, Harkin was seen engaged in frenetic observation through the window. Shepherd walks in gun drawn, noticing his approach, Harkin turns and runs—only to be intercepted by Garrus, who proceeds to ram him against an adjacent wall in a less than gentle a fashion.

"So, Fade…couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?"

"Come on, Garrus…we can work this out, Whaddaya need?" Harkin asked nervously.

"I'm looking for someone"

"Well, I guess we both have something the other one wants" he sneered. Garrus was not amused as he kicked Harkin in the crotch. Harkin groaned as he slid down to the ground, Shepherd had to admit it was kind of satisfying to see Harkin humiliated like this.

"That had to hurt, maybe now you'll want to talk" Shepherd said.

"Maybe, I still haven't heard what you want" Harkin said as he got off the ground.

"You helped a friend of mine disappear, now I need him to reappear"

"You could be more specific"

"His name is Sidonis. Turian, came from the…"

"I know who he is, and I'm not telling you shit"

Shepherd sighed. "Harkin, this doesn't have be hard"

"Screw you" he said "I don't give out information, it tends to be bad for business" Garrus head-butted Harkin and stepped on his neck.

"You know what else is bad for business?" Garrus asked. "A broken neck!" He increased the pressure on Harkin's neck. Shepherd sighed at the stubborn man on the floor, he was just digging himself deeper, Garrus was in mood for games. Harkin desperately tried to get the turian's foot off his neck so he could at least breathe.

"All right! All right! Get off me!" he strained. Garrus relented and got off him. Harkin took a gasp of air and got off the floor rubbing his neck. "Terminus really changed you, huh, Garrus?"

"No, but…Sidonis opened my eyes" he said bitterly. "Now arranged the meeting" Harkin got up and went to the terminal. As he sat the meeting, Shepherd saw Garrus playing with his gun; he frowned at what the turian was thinking. Harkin came back to them.

"It's all good. He wants to meet you in front of the Orbital Lounge. Middle of the day" Harkin said. "So if our business is done, I'll be going…" As he makes his move to leave, Garrus grabs him by the collar with his gun pointed at him.

"I don't think so. You're a criminal now, Harkin" he said.

Harkin paled. "So what…you're going to kill me? That's not your style, Garrus" he said in fear.

Garrus gave an unsettling grin. "Kill you? No. But I don't mind slowing you down a little" he said pointing his gun at his foot." Shepherd eyes went wide and quickly grabbed his gun, before it went off.

"That's enough Garrus; he won't be able to hide from C-sec now"

The turian scoffed and pulled away from the spectre. "I guess it's your lucky day"

"Yeah, hope we can do this again real soon" Harkin said sarcastically. Garrus head-butted him in the nose. Shepherd and Garrus went to meet Sidonis, Shepherd gave him a look.

"I didn't shoot him" Shepherd rolled his eyes.

Shepherd shook his head. "Come on, let's move"

"Sidonis better be there, or I'm coming to finish the job" Garrus threatened. The squad takes a transport to the Lounge, where Garrus would finish this. As the transport landed, the two of them sat in the seats in silence, Shepherd knew what was coming.

"Harkin's a bloody menace" Garrus said. "We shouldn't have let him go"

"Don't waste your time with him, let C-sec handle him" Shepherd said. "I'm more worried about you"

"Don't be, there is no turning back"

"You're going to regret this" Shepherd said. Garrus glared at him.

"And how do you know?!" Garrus asked angrily.

"Because I lived it!" Shepherd said. "First at Torfan! Not to mention X-57 two years ago, if Tali didn't stop me, those hostages would be dead, you saw what I was like when I saw those batarians, I was out for blood" Garrus looked away. "You do this, and Sidonis will define you for the rest of your life, just like the batarians did with me…"

"Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don't? Nobody else knows what he's done. Nobody else cares"

"Somebody does, look" Shepherd said pressing his omni-tool. Garrus read the letter; it was from the wife of Alex, an asari on Omega.

_From: Nalah Butler_

_Commander Shepherd,_

_My husband was one of the men serving on Garrus' team. I don't how much Garrus talked to you about what happened. I don't know the specifics myself, only that my husband died in a trap set by those bastard gangs. I know Garrus blames himself; he took every shot fired at his squad at a failure on his part, and it was clear when he sent me the message about my husband that he thinks it was his fault._

_My husband would never have wanted that. He was proud of the work he did on Garrus' squad. He was taking back Omega from the gangs. He died fighting with honor. I miss him. Goddess, I'd give anything to get him back. But whatever happened there wasn't Garrus' fault._

_You're his commander now. Please, if you can, help him stop blaming himself. And please don't tell that I sent you this. Thank you._

_- Nalah Butler_

"…"

"Look let me talk to him" Shepherd said.

Garrus looked away. "Talk all you want, but it won't bring my men back"

"Neither will killing him" Shepherd said.

"I don't care what his reasons were, he screwed us…he deserves to die" Garrus said. "I need to set up"

Shepherd sighed. "Fine, I hope you don't regret this" Shepherd said. Shepherd leaves the cab and it takes off. The spectre went down in the Lounge, Shepherd never been here before it must had been a new area after Saren's attack. It was ablaze with color and sound, energy as people went about their day, blissful of what was going to happen soon. His com opened.

"Shepherd, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear"

Garrus looked across the room and saw a turian sitting down in a red, blue, and yellow casual wear. Garrus snorted, the man stood out like a sore thumb, like he wanted to get shot. It didn't matter it would all be over soon. "There he is, wave him over and keep him talking" Down on the ground, Sidonis is waiting and Shepherd motions him over. The turian walked over to Shepherd.

"Let's get this over with" Sidonis said. As Shepherd looked at him, he had to wonder this was the man responsible for eight deaths, a man that Garrus sworn bloody vengeance onto. Sidonis looked unremarkable; his eyes were dull and hollow like death. He looked skinny, very skinny like he hadn't eaten in weeks, he also smelled. He looked like he belonged in the slums, not walking around in an area like this.

"You're in my shot. Move to the side" Garrus said.

Shepherd sighed. "Listen Sidonis, I'm here to help"

"Don't ever say that name aloud" he said nervously.

"I'm a friend of Garrus, he wants you dead, and I'm hoping that's necessary"

Sidonis' eyes went wide. "Garrus? Is this a joke?"

"Damn it Shepherd, if he moves. I'm taking the shot!"

"You're not joking, are you?" he asked in fear. "Screw this I'm not sticking around to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems" he begins to walk away. Shepherd pulls his arm and warns him to stay still. "Get off me!"

"I'm the only thing standing between you and a hole in your head" Shepherd said. "If you want to live, you stay in front of me" Sidonis looked at him nervously. "Garrus won't shoot me not even to get to you"

Sidonis lowered his head. "Fuck" he said in defeat. They walked over to the rails, Shepherd staying in Garrus' shot the whole way. "Look I didn't want to do it but I didn't have a choice"

"Everyone has a choice" Garrus growled.

"The blue suns got me, said they'd kill me if I didn't help. What was I supposed to do?"

"Let me take the shot, he's a damned coward"

Shepherd ignored him. "That's it?" he asked. "You were trying to save yourself?"

"I know what I did. I know they died, because of me, and I have to live with that" Sidonis said sadly. "I wake up every night…sick…and sweating. Each of their faces staring at me…accusing me"

"I…know how you feel" Shepherd said solemnly.

The turian sighed. "I'm already a dead man, I don't sleep, and food has no taste. Some days I just want it to be over"

"Just give me the chance"

"There's nothing left to kill, Garrus, he's already dead inside" Shepherd said. "Your revenge would be hallow, empty"

"Tell Garrus if it means anything, I'm sorry" Sidonis said sadly.

Garrus took his finger of the trigger when he heard that. He didn't want to hear that, he didn't want to hear he regretted what he did, he wanted to kill him. But he couldn't, Shepherd was right killing him would mean nothing. His revenge meant nothing in the end. "Damn you, Sidonis…" He clenched his teeth and gave a frustrated roar. "Tell him to go, just go" Garrus said in defeat.

"You're a lucky man, Garrus just let you live, don't waste it" Shepherd said walking away.

"I won't I will make it count, I promise, Garrus" he whispered. Sidonis walked away and Shepherd met with Garrus, he sat on the transport silently, staring at nothing.

"Garrus…" Shepherd started. The turian raised his hand.

"I know you want talk about this, but… I'm not ready" Garrus said.

"I know it didn't go the way you want, but it's for the best"

"Hm, maybe" Garrus said. He then looked at Shepherd as he was about to enter the transport. "You were never going to let me shoot were you?"

The spectre stopped and looked at him. "No, because the better man is never a murderer" Shepherd said. "Never forget that" He went into the transport.

"Got it, boss" Garrus went inside and the two went back to the Normandy.

_Garrus's traitor has been found and dealt with, leaving Garrus clearheaded for the mission. Operatives in C-Sec will ensure no criminal charges are filed against him or Shepherd. May be able to co-opt Harkin's criminal network. Sending agents to investigate. -_ _Mission Summary_


	40. Chapter 32: Love Lost

**Chapter 32: Love Lost**

It was morning on the crew deck, Kasumi woke up to get some breakfast. The thief gave a huge yawn, and went to Rupert to get a meal. The older man smiled when he saw her approached, something that was not lost on the other crew members. Ever since she came on board, they had a unique relationship, Rupert wasn't exactly what you called the best cook, most of the time the crew would rather take the bland freeze dry food than Rupert's infamous chef surprise which tasted like three-week old spam that's been left out in the heat with the consistency rubber cement. However Kasumi was different, as soon as she was hungry she tried the surprise and loved it much to the crew's surprise, even Grunt wouldn't eat it and krogan are known for their appetites which gave the young thief the reputation of the most badass person on the ship…next to the Commander of course.

"Hey Rupert, got anything to eat?" Kasumi asked.

Rupert smirked. "Sure thing, Ta da!" He revealed some blue looking…stuff, the smell was just rancid to the other crew members as a lot of them gagged and some of them ran to the elevator or the bathroom anything to get away from the smell. But Kasumi just smelled it, and sighed happily. "Sautéed Gas Bag liver, a delicacy on Eden Prime

"Oh damn, that smells good, you make the best stuff" She took the plate and began eating the liver, much to disbelief and/or horror of the other members. When she was done she sat back in her chair. She smiled at Rupert. "Man, you keep cooking like that; you're going to spoil me"

"Anything to please a lady" Rupert said starting the dishes. He fiddled with his omni-tool to find some music, and all he got was static. "Goddamned tool, it's on the fritz again, two hundred years and we still get pieces of junk!" Kasumi came up to him.

"Let me try" Rupert took off his omni-tool and handed it to her. "Let's see…" Kasumi tinkered with the omni-tool. She wasn't as good with gadgets as Lia was, but if it was something simple then it was all good. She messed around with it until she heard a sound.

'_This is E! news with breaking news: Tomorrow afternoon, Billionaire playboy and CEO of Rosenkov Materials Donovan Hock is once again hosting the annual jamboree at his Bekenstein estate. It was thought the party would not happen due to the Alliance investigating alleged charges of arms dealing, bribery of public officials and murders all of which his lawyer strongly denies. The who's who will nevertheless be joining the festivities from celebrities like Sarah Pitt, socialites Ryan Hilton, and politicians Anita Goyle. Stay with us on E! news'_

"Hey, Kasumi….Kasumi!" Rupert shook her and Kasumi snapped back to reality.

"Huh?"

"You spaced out on me when you heard that announcement, you okay?"

"Y…yeah…I…I got to go" Kasumi said shakily. "Thank you for the food" Kasumi gave Rupert back his omni-tool and went to her room. Once in her room, she took off her hood to wipe the tears falling from her eyes. She walked over to a chest she brought on to the Normandy. "Silence is Golden…" The chest unlocked and revealed a single case that had a gold ring inside; on the outside of the ring was an engraving: aishite imasu or 'I love you' in Japanese.

"Keiji…"

_**Five years ago-Terra Nova**_

_It was nighttime on the colony, Keiji and Kasumi was getting ready for their final job. Kasumi had been bugging Keiji about being bored and missing the energy from all the heists they've done all these years. Keiji was reluctant at first, he wanted to retire from that life, but even he had to admit he too was getting bored, so eventually he came on board. The job was to be simple, go in and get some data for their client, the reward would be three hundred million credits, when they heard about that amount their jaws dropped, and with that kind of money retiring from the game was all but decided. _

"_I'm ready on my end, Keiji…" Kasumi said putting on her hood. She saw as Keiji put on his shirt, even in the dark she could see his well-defined abs. She blushed._

"_Like what you see?" Keiji asked with a smirk._

"_Yeah, we'll have to do something once we get back…" She said._

"_Looking forward to it" Keiji said. Kasumi turned to get outside but Keiji grabbed her arm. "Um, Kasumi….?" She looked at him, and it was his turn to blush. "Well…might as well get this over with…"_

"_Keiji?" _

"_Look Kasumi, we've been together for quite a while now and I've never felt so strongly about anyone else but you…" He said still flushed. "Even though this will be our last job, I hope this won't be the last of us…." He went the drawer and pulled out a little grey box, Kasumi eyes went wide and she gasped as he opened the box. He kneeled down. "Kasumi Goto, will you marry me?"_

_Kasumi smiled and knelt to kiss him. "Yes, yes I will!" One last job with a three hundred million credits payout, and now a fiancé. This was supposed to the happiest day of her life, but it was anything but…_

_Shanxi, in the First Contact War, it was the only colony to ever be occupied by an alien race giving it the historical importance of Pearl Harbor, the Alamo, or D-day. Nowadays, it is a bustling colony that rivals Eden Prime and Elysium, and home of some of the richest humans in the Alliance. Their target was the CEO of Rosenkov Materials, Donovan Hock, inside his estate was information so vital, and their client was willing to shell out so much money to get it out of Hack's hands. The client gave them everything they needed to get through the security systems and into Hock's vault. The mansion was huge and luxurious, but when you were born into money like Kasumi was, you've seen them all, although she did wish she take other valuables to maximize their profit. The security they faced wasn't so tough, actually they were amateurs._

_Although, they carried weapons with them, they almost never use them until actually needed them, but then as they got in deeper in the compound; those weapons were looking good more and more. The people they were facing now weren't regular security personnel, they were mercs and more specifically they were Eclipse. Just what was this data, that Hock was willing to hire cold-blooded killers? Either way it was going to be a challenge to get to the vault, of the three major merc groups, Eclipse were the most advance technology wise. _

"_Two LOKIs, Kasumi take the one on the right, I got the left" Keiji said. Kasumi nodded and they went into action disabling the mechs. Once they fell, they entered the security room and implanted a virus into the system to trick the vault's systems into believing they were Hock._

"_Keiji, two engineers coming up" Kasumi said. "They're checking the mechs"_

"_Knock them out, I need to finish unlocking the vault" Kasumi nodded and cloaked approaching the mercs._

"_Shit stupid pieces of junk, why do we bother with these low-grade mechs?"_

"_Because YMIRs are too clunky and loud, now shut up and help me get these things up" Kasumi was now behind them and with a sharp punch and a kick knocked them out. Keiji finally finished with the vault went to help hide the bodies and they went in. Hock vault was spectacular, it house such fine art from almost every citadel race and then some. However her favorites had to be the old art from Earth._

"_Oh my god, the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper" Kasumi said in glee. "And what's this? 'The Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte', oh la la" She looked at Keiji. "You think we have time to grab these too, love?"_

_Keiji chuckled. "Maybe next time, Kasumi" Keiji went to the terminal and hacked into the data base. Talk about sensitive information, there was more to Hock than the public know, when he wasn't selling his top of the line weapons to the Alliance's N7 program, he was making backroom deals with merc groups, terrorists, and from the looks of the data Hack has even made deals with Omega's infamous warlord Aria T'Loak. Keiji was almost afraid of what this information was going to be. He hated when he was right. "What the hell is this…?"_

_Kasumi walked up to him. "Keiji?" Just as he was about answer her, the door to their right blew open and Eclipse mercs flooded the room and surrounded them. Kasumi and Keiji had their weapons out, but trying to fight them all would be suicidal. A voice spoke up._

"_Welcome to my humble home, you two" A hologram of an older man appeared. Donovan Hock. "Why don't you stay awhile?"_

_**Now**_

After they met with Hock, they found out the silent alarm built within data that would alert every merc and security officer in the perimeter. However they were able to escape, but it didn't last eventually their planned exit was block off when the man himself decided to settle things himself. In came a gunship, he really wanted to make sure they didn't leave with that data. With Hock in front and his guards bringing up the rear, there would be no escape for the both of them, but maybe for one of them. Keiji used himself as bait to draw them away so Kasumi could get away and that was last time she ever saw Keiji…

Kasumi kissed the gold ring and put it back in the chest. "EDI, where is my cousin?"

"Shepherd is making his round on the ship. He is currently talking to Staff Lieutenant Alenko in his room."

"Thank you, EDI" Kasumi said. She looked back at the chest. "I'll get you back Keiji, I promise I will…" She left the room.


	41. Chapter 33: Stolen Memories pt1

**Chapter 33: Stolen Memory pt. 1**

Kasumi was getting ready for her mission to Hock's mansion, as she checked her equipment and her plans, Lia spoke up. "Are you sure you have to do this?" Lia asked concerned. "Keiji-kun, wouldn't want to throw your life away for his sake" Kasumi hugged her little sister that was Lia always worrying about other people.

"I have to, I can't let the bastard who killed him defile his memory" she said. She then grew silent, it was time for her know, she hesitated at first she didn't know how she would react about being thief and using her inventions to steal, but it was better come clean, even if it was to clear her own conscience. She took a deep breath. "If I don't come…"

"Don't say that, I don't even want to think about losing you" Lia said.

"But if I don't, you need to at least know the truth" Kasumi said. "That I'm a…" Lia spoke up.

"That you're a thief and you've been using my tech for your work." she said. Kasumi looked away.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I'm not as naïve as you and Keiji-kun believed me to be" the Quarian said. She looked at Lia.

"And you're not mad? I mean…"

"I was at first, but you and Keiji were always good to me and the other Quarians in the commune, if you were truly bad people you could have taken my tech and left, you could have just forgotten we existed and been on your way, but you didn't…you treated us like family" Lia explained. "and to me you two will always be my big brother and sister" She hugged her tightly.

Kasumi felt tears fall her cheeks. "And you'll always be my little sister" Kasumi went to see Shepherd. It was time to put someone to rest.

_"More glittering than diamonds, more expensive than surgery," is how travel agents describe this planet behind closed doors. Given the opportunity to colonize planets after the First Contact War, the Systems Alliance chose Bekenstein to be their trading arm, producing goods to be sold on the nearby Citadel. Cracking the vast galactic marketplace proved difficult - the first human products sold on novelty alone, then lack of demand hit Bekenstein's economy hard. Only in the second generation of colonists did the planet find a sustainable niche in high-quality entertainment and luxury goods. Once brand awareness sunk in, aliens flocked to Bekenstein's many spaceports. The planet today boasts more millionaires and billionaires per capita than any other human colony._

_Though its crime tends to be white-collar and nonviolent, Bekenstein is not without its dark side. Both its suicide rate and inflation are extremely high compared to other worlds. Unemployment is artificially low because few people immigrate to the expensive planet without having a job lined up, and the cost of living is so great that unemployed workers typically leave for kinder planets after just a few months. Those who stay see themselves as tougher, sharper, and more skillful than the rest, as well as capable of getting respect and employment on any lesser planet. As a popular song says, "If you can make it on the Bek, you got 'em by the neck."-Codex_

Kasumi and Shepherd flew to Hock's estate using the shuttle they had rented. Shepherd groaned as he was fidgeting with the collar of the suit Kasumi picked out for him. When Kasumi said it was time for the mission, she never told him dressing up was part of it. He hated suits, always have, he didn't even like wearing his dress blues. "Any reason I'm in the penguin suit?" Shepherd asked annoyed.

"The party at the estate is formal, and you do have to look the part" Kasumi said. She then smirked. "Besides, you should be happy, cuz, Tali couldn't keep her eyes off you, Mr. Solomon Gunn"

Shepherd blushed. He remembered the look on his girlfriend's face, it was possibly the most lustful he had seen the quarian. Shepherd may not have like the suit, but Tali definitely did, so maybe the suit wasn't as bad as he believed. Shepherd cleared his throat. "Fine, you made your point, what's the plan?" he asked.

"You run a small, but talented band of mercs out in the Terminus Systems. Precisely the type of person Hock respects" she said. "I took the liberty of giving you a reputation. Papers, witnesses, article in Badass Weekly"

"I'm not sure you've notice, but I do have that kind of reputation already"

"Yes, and a reputation of being dead for two years" Kasumi said dryly. Shepherd rolled his eyes.

"So what, I just talk to him?" Shepherd asked.

"No not yet, you're a smooth talker, but Hock can pick up deception in a snap"

"So who is Hock?" Shepherd asked.

"Hock is CEO of Rosenkov Materials, but that's just a front for his real job, weapon dealing and smuggling. He killed my partner and stole his greybox" Kasumi said with a frown. "He's smart, pragmatic and he has no problem cracking a man's head open to get at the neural implants inside"

"Nasty customer…now probably a good time for details"

Kasumi nodded and then pulled up pictures of Hock's estate. It was large white mansion overlooking the sea, Hock had a thing for the dramatic as looked like a scene right out of Shepherd's novels. And probably an ego to match. "Hock is throwing a party of his closest friends, politicians, celebrities, and a couple of dozens of the worst liars, cheaters, and mass murderers, you'll ever meet, all bringing gifts to the man himself"

"I'm sure we'll get along, just fine" Shepherd said sarcastically.

"I hope so, I don't need a gunfight just yet" Kasumi said. The slide changed. "Our tribute will be a lovely gold statue of your friend, Saren, rendered in lovely detail and filled to the brim with our weapons and armor" Shepherd frowned, he didn't like the fact he was going into a dangerous situation without a weapon. He looked at Kasumi.

"Please tell me I can keep one of my weapons"

"Your pistol, as long as it's concealed. They won't hassle you over a side arm" she said. "Once inside, we'll make our way to Hock's vault door, somewhere in the back of the ballroom, then we case the security and start peeling away the layers. The statue should be there, waiting for you to crack it open and arm up" She smirked. "We then just waltz in and take Keiji's greybox"

Shepherd raised a brow. "You worked hard on this; Keiji must have been more than just a partner"

Kasumi lowered her head and looked out the window. "Hock was to be our last job" she said sadly. "After the heist, we were to be married, start a new life together, Hock had other plans"

"I'm…sorry" Shepherd said.

"So am I" Kasumi said. "You have something special with Tali; never take it for granted, cuz"

"I won't, trust me, I learned that the hard way at fifteen" Shepherd said.

Kasumi nodded. "Now enough sad stuff, let's get this party started. The car landed in front of Hock's estate and got out. They saw a lot of people going in, some people going home. Around the perimeter of the mansion, were Eclipse mercs playing security for the night. From the looks on some of the people's face that were leaving, they weren't too comfortable with mercs being in charge of their well-being. Kasumi took a deep breath. "Let's do this" As the two of them, went inside, they were stopped by an Eclipse guard.

"Hold a moment, sir. There seems to be an issue with the statue" More guards came up and started to scan the gold statue, Shepherd and Kasumi grew nervous, if they discovered the weapons inside it was all over. A man came out and approached the group; he was well-dressed, well-groomed man in white suit. Kasumi tensed as she saw him, it was Hock, Keiji's killer. Shepherd gave her a look and she calmed down. Hock looked at the mercs.

"Is there a problem?" he asked in a gruff accent.

"No Mr. Hock, just doing a scan"

Hock gaze went to Shepherd and Kasumi. "I don't believe we've met. Donovan Hock"

"I've heard a lot about you, Solomon Gunn" Shepherd said holding out his hand.

Hock ignores his hand. "And I heard a lot about you." He said. "You've been busy lately, or so the extranet says" The Eclipse guard spoke up.

"Sir, the scanners aren't picking anything up"

Hock looked at the statue, now Kasumi was really getting nervous. "Hmm, I don't think our friend would come all the way here from Illum just to cause trouble, do you?" he said. "You may come through, Mr. Gunn, you were invited after all" His gaze focused on Kasumi. "But I will ask your companion to say outside. You understand, I hope"

"No problem, you're the host after all" Shepherd said.

"Enjoy the party" he said going back inside. Shepherd and Kasumi went to talk on the side. They were able to get the statue in, but now there was new problem, Kasumi couldn't get in.

Kasumi sighed. "Well that didn't go as expected"

"Any idea why he sent you away?" Shepherd asked.

She shook her head. "No, we've never seen each other in person, and no one knows what I look like"

"Yeah about that, what do you look like?" Shepherd asked. "I'm your cousin and I've never seen your face"

"Force of habit, I'm the best thief in the galaxy, not the most well-known" she said. "As for Hock, he's just watching his ass, I can't really blame him"

"What do we do now?"

"We go on with the plan, you'll just have to do all the talking" Kasumi said. "Just pour on the charm"

Shepherd raised a brow. "You do know my charm, imparts putting a gun to someone's face, right?" he asked.

"Ok, so maybe not all the charm" she said. "I'll stay out of sight and stick with you the best I can"

"Got it"

"We'll keep in radio contact in case something goes wrong." She said disappearing. Shepherd went inside the mansion. The inside was just as lavish as it was outside, the walls were full of fine art and pictures of Hock's achievements and events. Shepherd was right, he was an egomaniac. One the floor were loads of people talking, some about politics, some about some vacation they went on, and some people just there to either suck up to Hock or show off the latest eye candy they happen to have this week. Kasumi spoke up. "We need to find the door and security. We'll figure out the next plan, then"

Shepherd walked through the mansion, moving his way through the crowds of people looking for Kasumi's vault, all the while overhearing some of the more undesirable guest's chatter. These muse have been the liars, cheats, and murders Kasumi was talking about. They made him sick to his stomach; they were people who had gotten rich and power off of the misery of people less fortunate than them he really wanted to do something, but focused on the mission. Eventually he made it to the vault, Hock's very hi-tech vault.

"Very nice, there's more here than I expected" Kasumi said reappearing.

"No wonder there's no guards here, he don't need it" Shepherd said.

Kasumi came up to the vault and analyzed the systems. "Password protected voice lock, kinetic barrier, DNA scanner…looks like an EX-700 series. Everything a vault needs to be impenetrable."

"Can you break it?" Shepherd asked.

"Please, cuz, remember who you're talking to" she said. "We'll need a voice sample for the voice lock."

Shepherd groaned. "I'll have to speak with that jackass" he said annoyed.

"Not now" she said. "and we have to find the password too."

"What about DNA? He's bound to be careful"

"Child's play, I don't care how through he is, his DNA is still there" Kasumi said. "and the barrier, cut the power, never fails, it must be on a separate line, in case of the whole mansion loses power"

"You're good" Shepherd said.

"Keiji, taught me all of his tricks" Kasumi said. "He could get through this in his sleep…"

"He sounded like a good man, it's a shame I didn't get to meet him"

"I know he would have liked you, too" She said sadly. "Let's do it"

"Got it, cuz…"


	42. Chapter 34: Stolen Memories pt2

**Chapter 34: Stolen Memory pt. 2**

"So what should we do, first?" Shepherd asked.

"We cut the power to the vault first" Kasumi said. "There should be a cord near here" Shepherd nodded and exited the room; he found a silver cord next to the door.

"Found it"

"I'll set your omni-tool to scan electromagnetic fields" Kasumi said. Kasumi pressed a few buttons on her omni-tool and Shepherd omni-tool beeped. "There, just follow the cord, and try not to be obvious"

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "Thank you for the vote of confidence" he said. He headed up the stairs ahead, he was careful to play it smooth as to not attract to himself. Luckily the patrons were too busy bragging about their wealth to pay attention to him. He started to understand why people like his cousin robbed the rich, it was because they were completely dense. He went around the corner and saw a fireplace, though it wasn't real just a halogram. Shepherd saw the cable led to a statue and pulled the statue on the wall, revealing a small power grid.

Kasumi reappeared. "One sec and…" She waved her omni-tool across the power grid and it sparked. "That should take care of the barrier"

"Please tell me the rest is going to be as easy"

Kasumi smirked. "Not even close, cuz" she said. "The next thing we should do is get a DNA sample, which should be in his private quarters"

"How the hell I am going to get in there?" he asked. "It's not like I can just ask him"

Kasumi thought for a while. "Got it, meet me outside on the balcony" she said. Shepherd slipped outside of the mansion to balcony overlooking the Bekenstein waters. Shepherd watched to see if anyone was watching and lept over the rail. Using his biotics, Shepherd was able to slow his decent on to the ledge, where Kasumi reappeared in front of him. They quickly went to the two pillars and took cover behind three Eclipse guards outside Hock's room.

"On three, flash bang" Shepherd said. "One, two, three" Kasumi rolled a small sphere in-between the three guards. One of the guards looked down and crouched down to pick it off the ground.

"Hmm, what's this?" The flash bang activated and a bright flash blinded the guards. They all yelled in confusion and started shooting wildly. Shepherd glowed blue and pushed the guards of the ledge, and they fell to their deaths on the rocks below. Kasumi opened the window and they climbed through to the hallway leading to Hock's bed room. Hock's bedroom was nothing special, a little ritzier than average.

"Look for anything we can get useable DNA from" Kasumi said. "Just make it quick and quiet" Shepherd nodded and searched the room. First he searched the pillows on the bed.

"No hair or skin flakes" Shepherd said.

"Housecleaning must be thorough, let's search for more" Shepherd then searched one of the couches.

"Aha!" Shepherd said. Kasumi looked at him.

"What a sample?" she asked.

"No, a credit chit" he said with a smirk.

"Really?" she asked annoyed.

"And a sample too" Kasumi rolled her eyes.

"Please focus" she said.

"Okay, okay" Shepherd said. He searched Hock's desk. "Kasumi, I got a data pad here"

Kasumi came to Shepherd and scanned the datapad. "Okuda" Decryption Project Update: Little progress to report. We have now completed dictionary attacks using words and phrases from 4800 galactic languages. Research into the Okuda family has not produced any matches. It is unlikely that a random brute-force approach will produce a result within our lifetimes. Given the nature of the graybox technology, it's possible that the decryption key may not be a password at all. It could be a memory, an emotion, even a smell – the permutations could be infinite. I suggest that we begin investigating alternate methods for breaking the box." She read_._ "He was trying to crack Keiji's graybox"

"I'm guessing he had no luck" Shepherd said. Kasumi nodded. "Any luck on the DNA scan on your end?"

"I found DNA on the wine glass and his antique collection" She said. "We can go" Shepherd nodded. The duo came out of Hock's room and saw two guards near the entrance. It looks like they weren't subtle enough as they were now walking towards Hock's room after investigating the window they used to enter. They had to think fast.

"Use your flash grenades, I'll take them down" Shepherd said. Kasumi nodded and threw one grenade at the guards. While the two struggled, Shepherd lifted them off their feet and pushed them out the window.

"All we need now is Hock's voice and a password"

"What do you suggest?" he asked.

"The password shouldn't be a problem; I can get in their server and get it there" Kasumi said taking the key card from the ground. "As for you, here" she gave Shepherd a black device.

"What's this?"

"A recording device, just put it in your ear and anything you hear will be recorded" Kasumi said. "Good luck with Hock, I heard he is quite the talker"

"Oh joy" Shepherd said deadpanned.

"When you get his voice, meet me down in the vault, my trip shouldn't take too long" Kasumi said.

"Be careful, cuz" Shepherd said. Kasumi smiled and nodded before she disappeared.

Shepherd went to Hock. He was talk to an older man who had two asari on his arms. They were talking galactic politics, but from the look on Hock's face he was bored out of his mind. He gazed at Shepherd and moved away from the old man and walked over to the spectre. It was time to talk to him, even though he'd rather shoot him in the head and be done with it. "Mr. Gunn, good to see you" he said. "That scene at the door haven't soured your evening, I hope"

"I understand the security, but who would dare try to break into the home of Donovan Hock?" he asked politely.

Hock chuckled lightly. "Gunn, in our line of work, we attract a certain element. Few understand the hard work we take to keep the barbarians at bay"

Shepherd gave a fake smile, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I'm sure the barbarians think differently"

"People these days want comfort, entertainment, and love. They don't see that the galaxy is fragile" Hock said. One by one his guests were listening to his rambling. Until the room got quiet, and only Hock's voice could be heard. "They only have to worry about simple luxuries. Why? Because people like me…like you are doing the terrible things that keep the galaxy spinning"

"So this party is for the necessary evil of the galaxy, not sure the council sees it that way" Shepherd said.

"We are the cleaners, Mr. Gunn, the support structure for a galaxy's gleeful delusions of peace" Hock said. "May there always be a market for the things we do" The guests gave the man a standing ovation, Shepherd felt sick to his stomach again.

"Thank you, Mr. Hock, you gave a lot to think about" Shepherd said with fake smile.

"Enjoy the party, Mr. Gunn"

"Oh I will" Shepherd said. He went to the vault to meet Kasumi, who was already working on opening the rest of the vault. She looked back at Shepherd and went back to work.

"Enjoyed his little speech?" Kasumi asked.

Shepherd scoffed as he leaned back on the wall with his arm crossed. "Like a nail through the head, how do people get away with shit like that?" he asked.

"Money can make people do a lot of horrible things; it can make those delusional into believing their crimes are justified." Kasumi said. "Keiji was well aware of that, that's why he wanted to quit"

"Wise man"

"He was" Kasumi said. "Get suited up, it's time"

"About damn time" Shepherd said unlocking the statue. Kasumi finished disabling the security while Shepherd straps on his armor and weapons. As they went in the elevator, Kasumi waved her omni-tool across the camera to cover their tracks and the door closed.

The elevator door opened revealing a large room full of priceless artifacts that were too hot for Hock to show. "Hock's vault doesn't disappoint, his Berkenstein collection is just as impressive as his Shanxi collection" Kasumi walked out and her eyes fell upon an old statue with missing arms. "Michelangelo's David! You think maybe we can sneak it out?"

"Kasumi…" Shepherd warned.

"Alright, alright" she said. "My god..."

"What?" Shepherd asked. He saw her walk over to a rather large statue head. Shepherd walked up to the rails. "What's this?"

"You're kidding right? You don't know about Lady Liberty's head?" Shepherd shrugged and Kasumi sighed in exasperation. "Where the hell did he get this? Damn you, Hock!"

"When he's dead, I'm going to have to notify the Alliance about him. Earth would like its artwork back." Shepherd said.

"What makes you think…?" Kasumi asked.

"He's an idiot with ego problem, trust me he will" Shepherd said. They went down the steps. Shepherd noticed some stone tablets in a glass case. "What's this?"

Kasumi went up next to him. "Looks like Quarian script. Must be old. When did the Quarians last write on stone?"

"Quarian huh?" Shepherd asked. "Do you think we can take them with us?" Kasumi looked at him.

"Oh I don't get to steal, but you do?" she asked annoyed.

Shepherd shrugged. "It's ain't stealing if you're returning it to whom it belongs to."

"Tali's lucky to have a boyfriend willing to steal for her, must run in the family" she joked. Shepherd rolled his eyes and went to a table with no case. Kasumi eyes lit up. "Is that... It is! THE Kassa Locust. The gun that killed two presidents."

Shepherd picked up the gun. "Huh, and it comes with a perfect copy too. I don't think Hock will mind us 'borrowing' these." He said. Kasumi approached the device next to the gun and activated her omni-tool. The download commenced until there was a beep from her omni-tool.

"And done" Kasumi said. "That's was easier than I thought"

"Don't say that just yet…" Shepherd said.

"Why's that?" She asked. A giant hologram of Hock's head appeared before them. "Oh"

"Didn't I tell you? Idiot with an ego problem" Shepherd said with a smirk.

"I had a feeling that was you at the door, I knew if it was you, you would get in any way" Hock said.

"You know me I hate to disappoint" Kasumi said.

"I can't allow you and that greybox to leave Kasumi, that data is key to keeping the Alliance off my back and you know I'm willing to get my hands dirty, ask your little boy toy" Kasumi glared at him.

"Murderer!" She growled.

"Hey Hock" Shepherd said. He looked at him as Shepherd took out the Locus and shot one of his artifacts.

"NO!"

"Oops, my finger must have slipped" Shepherd said with a smirk. Hock gave a Shepherd a murderous glare.

"That shut him up" Kasumi said.

"KILL THEM!" Hock barked. Eclipse mercs flooded the room; two heavies, four troopers, and a woman leading them with tech armor on.

"Move in and take them-" She said. Shepherd got out his Hydra and pulled the trigger. the woman saw the projectiles fly towards them. "Oh sh-"The mercs flew as the missiles hit them and the explosions roared. The path to the next area was open.

"Let's go" Kasumi said. She looked back. "Cuz!"

"Hold that thought" Shepherd said as he scanned the Quarian tablet. "Now we can go"

They went into the next door and quickly took cover from more Eclipse Troopers and an YMIR Mech. They took out the first two troopers quickly; Shepherd then shot the canisters near the mech stripping it of its shields and armor. Kasumi aimed at the mechs and fired, causing it to explode. Once they got far enough down the driveways, Hock sealed them in, so they head up the stairs to the right and through the door. Their battles continued through the underground corridors. YMIR mechs on occasion, but mostly Eclipse mercenaries. Their fighting eventually brought them to the landing area. As they ran towards the landing pad a whirling sound was heard and a gunship appeared in the sky. "I offered you the easy way," Hock growled. "Let me show you the hard way." Shepherd and Kasumi took cover as the gunship fired at them.

"Whoo! I must have really pissed him off" Shepherd said with a smirk.

"You think?" Kasumi asked annoyed. "And why are you smiling?"

"Because I know how to cheat" Shepherd said. He opened his com. "Oh, Joker!" A roar appeared from behind Hock's gunship. It was the Normandy, Shepherd had took Joker to stand-by just in-case things had gotten sticky.

"W-what the hell?!" Hock asked. His comm opened up "You!" he growled.

"Hey Hock, you were right, I am cleaner of the galaxy, I clean the galaxy of scum like you"

"GUNN!"

"The name's not Gunn, its Shepherd, bye-bye Hock" He said as he closed his comm. The Normandy opened fired on the gunship. The gunship burned as it fell into the water near his mansion as the shuttle appeared. Later on the Normandy, Kasumi set everything up to access the greybox thanks to EDI. She had called Shepherd, for support as she plugged herself into the box. The image of Keiji appeared before them. The holographic HUD went across Kasumi's eyes planting her in a holographic world. Keiji stood before her.

"Kasumi," Keiji started. "If you are watching this, it's because I'm dead. The information we found is all here." He pointed to an array of holographic screens. The first screen depicted some sort of glowing structure.

She ignored what Keiji was saying and looked longingly at his memories. One stuck out the most; it was night, it was the day they left for Shanxi it was also the day Keiji proposed to her. She saw as he knelt down and put the ring on her finger and she saw herself smile as she knelt down and kissed Keiji on the lips, the last time she would ever feel his lips. "It's big Kasumi. If the Council ever got wind of this, the Alliance could be implicated. Kasumi, I-I encrypted the information to keep it safe. And I uploaded the encryption key to your greybox, so no one can get the whole package. But if I'm dead... And if anyone knows about this... Then I've made you a target my love. I'm so... so sorry."

"Keiji…I'm so sorry I suggested that heist, I'm sorry…" Kasumi said in tears.

"I know you Kasumi. You'll want to keep these memories forever, but you don't need some neural implant to know that I will always be with you. Please, Kasumi. Destroy these files. There's nothing more I can do to protect you."

Kasumi's head whipped towards Keiji. Her virtual figure ran towards Keiji and begged him, "I-I can't. This is all I have left."

"Goodbye, Kasumi. I love you."

Kasumi embraced him. Desperately wanting to keep him in her arms. The recording ended. She looked to Shepherd who took off his visor.

"Can't we just destroy the files?" Shepherd asked.

"No, it's integrated with his memories, you can't destroy one without the other" She said sadly.

"You may not want to hear this…" Shepherd hesitantly started. "But you should destroy the file"

"I…I can't, it's all I have left, the only thing I have left"

"You're wrong, you have Lia and you have me, cuz" Shepherd said. "Not to mention the Normandy crew, you're never alone" Shepherd came up and took the greybox. Kasumi grabbed his arm.

"Wait, I'll do it, it's only right" She said softly. Shepherd held out his hand, Kasumi took a deep breath and waved her omni-tool over the greybox. It crackled and sizzled as it smoked. She softly cried, losing the only thing left of her lover.

"Hey, come here" Shepherd said softly as he embraced her.

"Thank you, Wayne, Thank you" she said.

"Anything for family"

_The heist was successful; Keiji Okuda's graybox was recovered and destroyed. Donovan Hock was killed in the destruction of his gunship. Kasumi is loyal.-_ _Mission Summary_


	43. Chapter 35: Rite of Passage pt1

**Chapter 35: Rite of Passage pt.1**

"Ok, now keep your eyes closed" Shepherd said. "And no peeking…" After finishing the last mission with Kasumi, Shepherd decided to take the opportunity to surprise Tali with a special gift, from Hock's estate. Tali however was getting impatient and was about to lower her hands. "Ah-ah! Just wait, Rookie"

The quarian sighed. "Wayne, can't you just tell me?" Tali asked annoyed.

"It's a surprise, rookie, just be patient" Shepherd said as he sat up his omni-tool. "And now"

Tali opened her eyes and her eyes widen. Shepherd recorded the image of the stone tablets from Hock's vault. Tali grabbed his arm and examined the written up close, it was her people's language, although an ancient version of it. "Keelah, where did you get this?!" she asked in awe.

"I got from Hock's estate" Shepherd said. "Do you know it is?"

"It is the Hukum ko Bersekutu, the oldest document from our homeworld" she said. Shepherd tilted his head in confusion, waiting for an explanation. "It means laws of unity in Keelish; they are my people's first written laws"

"I knew it was important, so I or rather Kaiden pulled some favors in the Alliance, the tablet is being returned to your people as we speak" Shepherd said. He then heard sniffling. "I thought it would cheer you up, you after the trial, but I guess not?"

All of the sudden, Tali pounced and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Keelah, thank you" she said. "You don't know what this means to me…"

Shepherd kissed her mouthpiece. "Anytime" he said.

Tali gave a playful smile. "Anytime, huh?" She began to take off Shepherd's shirt as the spectre kissed her neck. Just as they were getting into things they heard a beep from his omni-tool and Kelly image appeared.

"Uh, Commander?"

Shepherd frowned. "What?"

Kelly saw Shepherd on top of Tali, both wearing very annoyed expressions on their faces. She blinked. "Um…I hope I'm not interrupting anything" Kelly said.

"No not at all, just a moment with my girlfriend" he said annoyed. Shepherd liked Kelly, she was a kind and capable woman but she was the absolute queen of bad timing. Shepherd sighed. "What is it?"

"Grunt just picked a fight with Jack, and they may wreck the ship" she said worried.

Shepherd sighed and shook his head; this was not what he needed it. "On it" He got off of Tali and helped her up off the bed. "Goddamn it…" he muttered. "Later?"

Tali hugged him. "Later" Shepherd left his cabin and went down to engineering. As he got down there he felt shaking, and ran to the source coming from Grunt's room. When he got inside, he had to duck as crate went flying towards his head. Shepherd saw Jack, glowing an intense blue and very pissed off, in front of her was Grunt with a toothy grin on his face. As annoyed as he was with Kelly interrupting his time with Tali, she was right to call.

"FUCK YOU!" Jack growled as she blasted Grunt with a shockwave. Grunt shook it off and punched at her, the smaller woman ducks and gives a biotic kick to the krogan's chest, pushing him back. Grunt gave a feral grin and charged, Jack charged also. Before they collided, Shepherd put them both in Stasis fields freezing them both. Jack and Grunt had a look of confusion and saw Shepherd walking between them, not at all amused by what he saw.

"What the fuck is going on here? I leave you people alone, and I get call of you to tearing up my ship?" Shepherd asked angrily. Jack and Grunt wasn't listening as they were staring daggers at each other. "Well?!" Jack and Grunt looked back at Shepherd.

"Talk to the fucking lizard, I was minding my business and this jackass sucker punch me!" Jack said angrily. "Do something about this Shepherd, or the Normandy will have one less krogan"

"I accept your challenge, puny human" Grunt sneered.

"Anytime shithead!" she growled.

"Enough! Jack go to Chakwas and get that eye checked out" Shepherd said. He then gazed to Grunt. "As for you, stay, we're going to have a little talk" He then released them from their prison and dropped to the floor. Jack got up and walked out of the as she grumbled angrily, leaving Shepherd and Grunt. Shepherd looked at Grunt and crossed his arms.

"You! Explain now, and it better be the fucking excuse of the century" Grunt paced around the room, growling. Shepherd never seen the krogan so restless before, then again the only reference he had been the stoic Wrex.

"Something…feels wrong, Shepherd. I feel wrong, tense, I just want to kill something, with my hands" he growled. "More than usual, like it's not my choice. Like I want to, I don't know…" He head-butted the glass and looked at the glass in confusion. "See? Why did I do that? What's wrong?"

"Okeer didn't imprint anything in your tank?" Shepherd asked. "How often have you been having this problem?"

"No, when we're moving, fighting, there's no problem. But here, my blood makes noise, it's screaming" he said. "I've got no past to lead me. The tank gave nothing on itching plates and losing control"

"Hmm, sounds like a krogan problem, which means we'll need a krogan solution" Shepherd said. "Joker, get us to Tuchanka, we need to nip this in the bud, before it becomes a problem"

"Got it, Commander, ETA four hours"

"Thank you, Shepherd. I don't like this; fury is my choice, not a sickness"

_The krogan homeworld boasts extreme temperatures, virulent diseases, and vicious, predatory fauna. Around 1900 BCE, the krogan discovered atomic power and promptly instigated many intraplanetary wars, sending Tuchanka into a nuclear winter. With most of their industrial base destroyed, the krogan entered a new dark age and warring tribal bands dominated. Populations remained low for the next 2,000 years._

_First contact with the salarians made resurgence possible. Krogan brought to less hostile planets bred exponentially and returned to reconquer their home. They built vast underground shelters to shield themselves from surface radiation, which proved prescient during the Krogan Rebellions when many of them isolated themselves in a vain attempt to avoid the genophage. Convinced they could outbreed the genophage, they transmitted it into more than 90 percent of the sealed bunkers. Today, Tuchanka's population is sharply limited and while individual krogan are long-lived, the genophage ensures few replacements.-Codex_

Tuchanka was a dump, a wasteland, what was once the capital of the krogan homeworld was now nothing more than a crater. The shuttle flew into an underground bunker and landed on to the pad, the team got out. The inside wasn't as bad as the outside, but it still wasn't a pretty sight with rubbles, holes, burn marks and the occasional dried blood on the wall. Grunt picked up a rock and scoffed. "This is the homeworld? The resting place of Kredak, Shiagur, and Veeoll? This hunk of rock is barely worth standing on" Grunt said. "Never thought I'd miss the tank"

"Wow, when Wrex said the krogan bombed their home world to hell, he meant it" Garrus said.

"Who is Wrex?" Grunt asked.

"An old friend of ours, he fought with us two years ago" Tali said. "He's a krogan battlemaster"

The krogan blinked. "A battle master who fought with aliens? You must be quite the warriors then" Grunt said

"Actually, it was more like he was bored for a fight" Kaiden said. A krogan in yellow armor came up to them. Grunt assumed a threatening stance and growled. The older krogan however didn't seem fazed in the least.

"What do you want?"

"For some odd reason the clan leader wants to meet with you" The team looked at one another.

"Why?"

"Who knows? All I know I wouldn't keep him waiting" he said. He then gazed at Grunt. "And keep your pet krogan under control or we will do it for you"

Shepherd frowned. "Noted" he said.

"I wish to tear his head off" Grunt growled.

"Do it after we find out what's wrong with you" The team walked through the ruins of Tuchanka on the way to the clan leader, as they walked they received looks from the only krogan. They were not welcoming in the least, and they thought they heard some growls coming from a couple of them.

"And I thought the stares on the Citadel was bad" Tali said.

"Don't let it bother you, the krogan were never very welcoming, even before the rebellions" Garrus said.

"Let's just get this over with; I don't want to outstay my welcome" They entered the main area of the bunker, easily the worst looking area of the bunker. Shepherd shook his head; he couldn't understand how anyone would do this to their own homeworld by choice. The team went up the area overlooking the rest of the krogans no doubt where the leader was. As the came closer the were stopped by two guards.

"Halt! You must wait until you are summoned, the clan leader is…in talks" Shepherd then heard a voice from behind.

"You know what tradition demands…Clan Urdnot must respond. Your reforms will not go unopposed, you risk appearing weak at a critical time" The first krogan kept talking, but the other krogan, simply bored, until he heard a familiar voice. The guards looked back and revealed Wrex wearing new white armor.

"SHEPHERD!" the krogan said excitedly.

"Good enough?" he asked with a smirk. "Excuse me" The team walked up the battlemaster, the other krogan looked confused and then frowned. He didn't like seeing aliens on the homeworld, and was appalled Wrex would allow it,

"Shepherd! My friend" Wrex said extending a hand. Shepherd shook it. "You look well for dead, Shepherd, should have known the void couldn't hold you"

"What no hello?" Garrus asked. Tali and Kaiden waved.

"Valkarian, Tali, and Kaiden so the old gang is back together" he said with a grin.

"Everyone except Liara, she's tracking someone down" Garrus said.

"Always curious, I see" Wrex said.

"Look at you, big man on campus, glad to see Virmire worked out for some of us"

"Ha! You made the rise of Urdnot possible Virmire was a turning point for the krogan, though…" he gaze at the krogan behind him "…not everyone was happy about it."

"Strange, I remember you being angry about the genophage cure on Virmire" Tali said.

"I was at first, but destroying Saren's fake cure freed us from his manipulations. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot"

The krogan snorted and pointed accusingly at Wrex. "You abandoned many traditions to get your way. Dangerous" Wrex was not amused as he walked up and then head-butted the krogan. He got off the floor and rubbed his plate as Wrex went back to the throne.

"Speak when spoken to, Uvenk. I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not" Uvenk growled.

"Always the charmer I see" Kaiden said.

Wrex snorted. "Someone has to keep these pyjaks in check" he said. "So how's the Normandy? I heard it blew up"

"Destroyed in a surprise attack, I ended up spaced" Shepherd said.

"Heh, well you look good, ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system" Wrex said with a smirk.

"Yeah, humans don't have that" Kaiden said.

"Oh then it must have been painful then, but he's standing here and he's got a strong crew, what's that human saying? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?"

"Kinda moot when you've died already, but whatever" Shepherd said.

"Takes me back to the old days, us against the unknown, killing it with big guns, good times" Wrex then shifted his gaze to Grunt, who was agitated and moving restlessly. "Who's the runt?"

"Grunt, he's a new member of my crew, something's wrong with him" Shepherd said. "And we need a krogan expert"

Wrex leaned in and looked at him, Grunt stopped and looked at Wrex, growling softly. "Where are you from, whelp? Was your clan destroyed before you can learn what's expected of you?"

"I have no clan; I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer, my line distilled from Kredak, Moro, Shiagur…"

Uvenk scoffed and got in Grunt's face. "You recite warlords, but you are the offspring of a syringe" Grunt glared at him and clenched his fists.

"I am pure krogan, you should be in awe" he growled. Uvenk was about rebuke the insolent young krogan until Wrex gave a sharp laugh causing everyone to look at him.

"A tank-bred with fire in his hump, I like it" Wrex said with a grin. "So Okeer bred you, you descend from a very hated Krogan"

"He's dead"

"Of course, if you're with Shepherd, what else would he be?" he said.

"So what's wrong with him?"

"He's becoming an adult" Wrex said with a smirk. The team blinked, and looked at Grunt. They had thought something was wrong due to him being a tank-bred, but they never thought in a million years it was because he was growing up.

"Grunt is going through puberty?" Kaiden asked in disbelief.

Garrus rubbed his head. "Couldn't we just give the kid a lap dance and be done with it?"

"I don't care what you call it; Krogan undergoes the rite of passage"

Uvenk growled. "Don't tell me you're actually considering it?!" he asked. "This thing is a joke, a mockery of our people!" The team glared at the older krogan, they didn't too kindly to him insulting their crewmate.

"There's nothing wrong with him, just some growing pains" Wrex said. "I'll allow it"

"You go too far Wrex! Your clan may rule, but this thing is not krogan" Uvenk growled as he walked away.

Wrex shook his head. "Idiot, so Grunt, do you wish to stand with clan Urdnot?" Grunt looked at Shepherd.

"Your choice, dude"

Grunt looked out at the outpost. "It is in my blood. It is what I am for"

"Good boy, speak to the shaman upstairs. Give him a good show and he'll set you on the path" Wrex said. "You too, Shepherd. How many times have you stepped in a mess for your crew, hmm?"

"Too much for comfort" Tali said.

"I guess that's why he has a good mate at his side" Wrex said with a smirk. "This going to be quite the show, it's been years since a krogan survived the rite of passage" Shepherd blinked and looked at Wrex.

"Wait what?"

"Let's just say it's a surprise" he said.

"Great…" Shepherd said walking to the Shaman.

_**Hukum ko Bersekutu: Keelish for laws of unity, the first laws of Rannoch. Human equivalent to Laws of Hammurabi **_


	44. Chapter 36: Rite of Passage pt2

**Chapter 36: Rite of Passage pt. 2**

As the team went to speak with the Shaman for Grunt's rite of passage, they heard two krogans discussing Grunt, as they got closer, they saw Uvenk talking to an older krogan, possibly older than Wrex."You go beyond yourself, Gatatog Uvenk! The rites of Urdnot are dominant" the older krogan said.

Shepherd sighed. "This jackass again, looks like that krogan got a bone to pick with you Grunt"

"If he gets in my way, I'll beat him with his spine" Grunt growled.

"Whoa tiger, save it for your rite, we still don't know what it entails" Kaiden said. Grunt, Tali, and Garrus looked at him blankly.

"What's a…?"

"Never mind I'll explain later" he said.

The team walked up, as Uvenk continued to argue about Grunt unworthiness, which just made the old krogan more annoyed. "How do we know the rite will challenge him? He's unnatural. The beasts of the rite could ignore him like a lump of plastic"

The older krogan snorted. "They know blood, no matter the womb. Your barking does not help your case" he said.

Grunt growled. "I'll speak for myself" the old krogan and Uvenk looked at Grunt. "Are you the Shaman?"

"Yes I am whelp, so you are the tank-bred?" The Shaman came up closer to Grunt, which made him growl. But to the old krogan's credit he didn't fazed as he continued to examine Grunt. "You're very lifelike" he said. He sniffed Grunt. "You even smell correct, your protest is hollow, Uvenk" Uvenlk just scoffed and crossed his arms.

Shepherd scoffed and stepped forward. "I don't care what this idiot says, Grunt deserves to be here" he said. The spectre gazed at Uvenk "Maybe you're just scared he'll wipe the floor with you" Uvenk glared at Shepherd and growled.

"The alien has fire, he weakens your position, Uvenk" The Shaman said with a hardy laugh.

"If this must stand a ritual, then I invoke a denial! My krantt stands against him! He has no one!"

"Wait he can do that? Even with Wrex's permission?" Garrus asked.

The shaman sighs. "Yes he can, Grunt who is your krantt? Your allies willing to die and kill on your behalf" Shepherd, Kaiden, Tali, and Garrus stepped up.

"We do, name our target and it will die" Shepherd said with a smirk.

The Shaman nodded clearly impressed with the loyalty of the aliens, however Uvenk didn't feel the same. "Aliens? This is the best the tank-bred can do?" Uvenk scoffed. Garrus crossed his arms and snorted.

"Afraid these aliens will show you up?" Garrus asked.

Uvenk pointed at him accusingly. "You aliens and your tank-bred are insults to our hallowed ritual" he growled. He then heard laughter. "Shaman?"

"These aliens have spirit, most aliens…" he then looked at Uvenk "…and some krogan do not understand out ways" he said with a smirk. "I see why Wrex speak so highly of his old companions"

Shepherd heard a slight growl in frustration from Uvenk and smirked, the fact that the battlemaster was losing case on denying Grunt's rite and losing badly was starting to get to him. "Aliens don't know strength! My followers are true krogan. Everything about Grunt is a lie"

"Watch what you say, bosh'tet, most people don't get away with insulting our crew" Tali growled.

"Is that a challenge, Quarian?" he growled. Uvenk confronted Tali, not happy that a lesser alien was disrespecting him. He towered over the quarian, if he could not deny Grunt, the very least he could do was put one of his allies in their places, unfortunately he picked the wrong one. Before he could do anything to Tali, Shepherd came up and head-butted him. The whole room stood in shock silence, the head-butt was special among the krogan it was a way to project dominance but also challenge it and this human just challenge a battlemaster's dominance, a dangerous move. However it took a while process that as Uvenk was still in shock from Shepherd head-butting him.

"You..you dare?" Uvenk asked in disbelief.

Shepherd got in his face. "You insulted my crew and threatened my mate, so yes I dare" he growled glowing blue.

The shaman gave a hardy laugh. "You've been outmatched, by aliens no doubt, and your krantt sees weakness from you" he said.

"I have other ways to deal with this" Uvenk growled as he walked away, not before pushing past the human that insulted and embarrassed him.

"You've made him angry, very dangerous, enough for me to like you"

"Is he going to be a problem?" Kaiden asked.

"No, once the rite starts he can't interfere" the Shaman said.

"What do we need to do?" Shepherd asked.

"To begin the rite, only the candidate and his krantt are required" he said. "Bring your love of the fight to Grunt's trial and he will succeed"

"I'll need time to prepare" Shepherd said. The Shaman nodded. Back at Wrex's camp, Shepherd and team gets ready for the rite. However not before tending to Shepherd's bruised forehead, Tali used cream version of medi-gel and applied it to the spectre's forehead. "Shit, I knew krogans were hardheaded, but I didn't know they were that hard…"

"Serves you right, what the hell were thinking, head-butting a krogan?" She asked.

"Uh, I wasn't…it was kinda spur of the moment"

Tali sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, any idea on how you're going to deal with the trial?" she asked.

"Uvenk said something about the beasts of the rite, it could mean fighting lots of varren" Kaiden said. "I would take a shotgun just in case"

"Thanks for the advice" he said as he equipped his weapons.

"Who are you taking?" Garrus asked. "From what he said, I don't think there is a limit to the people you can bring"

"Well, there's me and Grunt, so…"

"I'm coming too…" Tali said loading her geth shotgun onto her back.

Grunt scoffed. "The beasts of Tuchanka will tear you apart, Quarian" he said. Tali glared at him and got in his face.

"I'm coming" She said firmly.

"I don't think you're changing her mind" Garrus said with a chuckle. Grunt grumbled as he loaded his incendiary ammo into his Claymore and loaded it on his back.

"You sure rookie?" Shepherd asked.

"I can't just abandon you, you are my mate after all" she said with a smile.

Shepherd smirked. "I guess you can't" he said. "We each take a heavy weapon, and prepare for anything" Grunt and Tali nodded. They finished loading their weapons and then heard footsteps; it was Wrex coming into the room.

"All prepared? The native are quite restless" Wrex said.

"Yeah we are" Shepherd said putting on his Archon Visor.

"Good, you wouldn't want your crew to miss out would you?" he asked with a smirk.

Shepherd palmed his face. "You didn't…"

"I did, your crew is quite excited to see their leader in action" Wrex said. "How could I say no?"

"Easy"

"Too late now" he said. Shepherd sighed.

The team headed for the Shaman and the shaman sends Grunt and company to the traditional grounds of the rite. Meanwhile as the team gets ready for the fight, the Normandy crew, as personal guests of Wrex, got to their seats. Miranda sighed, they were supposed to fix Grunt's problem and somehow Shepherd has gotten involved in a krogan bloodsport. "What has that idiot done now?" She asked annoyed. The crew sat down, all around them were hundreds of rowdy and restless krogan waiting for the rite to begin. Jack spoke up.

"Got to love the krogan, they know how to party" Jack said with smirk. "I feel strangely at home"

"I guess you would, considering you have the intelligence of one" Miranda sneered. Jacob palmed his face as Jack glared at her. It's never quiet on the Normandy when Miranda and Jack is concerned, they made it very clear from the beginning that they don't like each other at all, the usual Miranda and Jack argument would start out like this: Miranda will something that will piss off Jack and Jacob or Kaiden is there to get between them before shit escalates and then they stare daggers at each other and then walk away giving each other the cold soldier, rinse and repeat.

"What was that, bitch?!" She growled. Jacob got between them and Jack backed off, moving away. "Watch your girl, Taylor; she's close to having a broken neck"

Jacob sighed. "Noted" he said as he grabbed Miranda's hand. Next Thane, Lia, Samara, and Kasumi went to join them.

"Lively as ever I see" Samara said.

"You have no idea…" Jacob said. "I'm guessing you guys didn't have any trouble"

The thief sighed. "We almost did, Zaeed almost started a fight with one of the krogan over prices" Kasumi said.

"Damn right, two thousand credits for grilled pyjak, that's bloody robbery!" he growled as he ate the pyjak on a stick.

"And yet you're eating it" She said.

Zaeed snorted. "Better than that stuff your personal chief calls food" Kaiden and Garrus joined the rest of the team.

"Look there they are!" Lia said.

The tomkah roared onto the battlefield and the team got out of the tank. The battlefield was ruined like the outpost was. Rubble and krogan bodies littered the battlefield, in the middle was a huge tower at the center of the battlefield. They didn't know what it was for but the Shaman said he would explain it soon. Their thoughts on what the rite would intel was interrupted by the roar of krogans looking for blood behind them.

"They look friendly" Tali said.

"They're just excited, it's been years since the last rite, and it's the first time they've seen aliens and a tank-bred participating" the shaman said. "And the fact that the great warrior Shepherd is here, they're looking forward to a good show"

Shepherd smirked. "We'll give him one"

"That's what I like to hear"

"So what is this place?" Tali asked.

"This is Tuchanka's most recent scar, the last surface city to fall in the rebellions. The keystone is at the heart" the shaman said. "It has survived war and the passage of time. It endures like the krogan"

"Any last-minute advice?" Shepherd asked.

"If you wish Grunt to join Clan Urdnot, you must contemplate the keystone and its trials" he said.

"What will happen?" Grunt asked.

"Who knows? You must adapt. You must thrive, no matter the situation" he said. "Any true krogan will"

Grunt smashed his fists together. "I'm ready, let's do this"

"You're confident now, but many have died in the first few minutes of the rite" The shaman said. "Do not underestimate the beasts, they eat fools for lunch…sometimes literally" He walked away to the tomkah.

"That's a pleasant thought" Tali said grimly.

"Let's get started, Shepherd. Hit the keystone" Grunt said impatiently. Shepherd nodded and a loud sound made Shepherd jump. They then heard a booming voice.

"_**First the krogan conquered Tuchanka…and mastered a natural world that only we are fit to hold."**_

Grunt gave a feral grin. "Here they come, I'm ready" he said. The first wave summoned multitudes of varren and they all descended upon Shepherd, Grunt and Tali.

"Tali use your drone and Grunt…" Grunt jumped in and started to bash the varren around. "…you keep doing what you're doing"

"Keep the pribadi alive?"

"Keep the pribadi alive" Shepherd said. Tali summoned Chatika to support Grunt. Shepherd froze the first varren that came after them and then shattered it with a throw. One of the varren jumped at Tali, but she gave a hard roundhouse kick at the side of the varren and then shot it with her Geth shotgun.

"I AM KROGAN!" Grunt shouted as he stomped on the skull of an unlucky varren. One of the varren lunged at the krogan, but Grunt grabbed the fishdog and gave it a hard head-butt. "MORE! COME ON!" he shouted in glee.

While the team was fighting for their lives, a group of krogan looked on from the shadows. "The tank-bred is doing well, he may succeed, battlemaster" one of them said.

Uvenk scoffed. "Killing a few varren doesn't make a true krogan, but his strength does intrigue me" he said. "If he proves his worth, we may be able to co-opt him, and take him before Wrex does"

"The clan leader won't be happy about it, if he finds out, our clan could suffer"

Unvenk smirked. "Let him find out, with the tank-bred's strength under our control, Clan Urdnot will see its last days"

_**Pribadi: Idiot**_


	45. Chapter 37: Rite of Passage pt3

_**Review and Comment**_

**Chapter 37: Rite of Passage pt.3**

The varren lunged at Shepherd and the spectre threw the fishdogs back, making it collide with several members of its pack. Tali directed Chatika to pile of fallen varren and ordered the drone to explode killing the fishdogs. "Wayne, Grunt's surrounded" Shepherd looked over at the young krogan who was surrounded by varren. The first one lunged at Grunt, but the krogan grabbed it by the neck and slammed it to the ground with vicious glee. Four varren leapt at Grunt.

"Grunt look out!" Shepherd warned. Grunt spun around and slammed his claymore into the faces of the fishdogs and went back to varren near him that was getting up. One shot and the varren died, the four varren got up and attacked and Grunt hit them with a concussive shot. Shepherd froze two of them in the air and the fall shatter them to pieces, Tali charged her shotgun and the two varren dissolved into dust.

"Varren's all dead" Tali said breathlessly. The team survived the first wave of enemies. All around them the krogan spectators roared in great numbers at their first victory. "Looks like we have fans, Wayne"

Shepherd looked at Grunt gloating over his victory. "I think it's more Grunt than us" he said with a smirk. They then heard another loud sound, and the booming voice started again, the tower was automatic as soon as on trial ended, another one would start right away. "Grunt and Tali get ready."

"Ready for another round, Shepherd" Grunt said excitedly.

"_**Then the krogan were lifted to the stars to destroy the fears of a galaxy, an enemy only we could chase to their lair"**_

As soon as the voice quieted down, they heard multiple screeching around them. Out of the holes came an insectoid species resembling crabs or beetles. They bared a resemblance to the rachni but were clearly a different species. They came in threes from both sides of the area, attempting to flank them, the team came together back.

"What are those?" Tali asked.

"Klixen, now it gets interesting" Grunt said with a grin. The klixen came up to the team and opened its mouth and fire came out. The team ducked out of the way, scattering to different directions.

"They're fucking fire-breathers?!" Shepherd said. The team shot at them but, they kept coming like the bullets didn't affect them. "Everyone switch to shotguns" They found that the shotgun were more effective against the klixen's hard shell. Luckily unlike the rachni, they were much slower, giving them time to react. Two kilxen spit fire, and burned part of Shepherd's armor, if the spectre didn't duck he could have been cooked flesh easily. Shepherd looked at Tali and Grunt, they were having trouble also, the fire insects were just too persistent. "Everyone to lower ground, get some room!"

The team went to the down to larger ground below, and surely enough the kilxen followed. "There's more are coming behind us!" Tali said. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift them into the air, as it turned out they were also vulnerable to biotics. Tali summoned her drone for support, while Grunt tackled the klixen with reckless abandon. When Shepherd killed one of them, the klixen exploded, knocking him down. "Wayne!"

Shepherd got off the ground, dazed but unharmed. "Be careful they explode when they die" Grunt however didn't listen and went in and tossed the creatures by the legs into a crowd and finished it with a concussive shot.

"What?" Grunt asked.

Shepherd sighed. "Never mind"

As the team fought the klixen, the Normandy crew was cheering from the sidelines. As it turned out they were enjoying the fight as much as the krogan were. Even the usually serious Miranda and the stoic Samara and Thane was getting somewhat animated.

"They're doing pretty well" Kaiden said.

Wrex gave a hardy laugh. "Was there ever any doubt?" he asked. "I've never seen my people this energized before"

"When the boss promises something, he delivers" Garrus said with a smirk. Next to them were an excited Zaeed, Jack, and surprisingly enough Lia.

"Fuck yeah! Did you see that move Grunt pulled off?" Jack asked excitedly.

"Did you see what the lass pulled off?" Zaeed asked. "Shepherd's got quite the woman"

"Go Onii-chan!" Lia said. "Kick their asses!" Kasumi shook her head.

"What's wrong, Kasumi?" Thane asked.

"I think Lia's been hanging around those two too long" she said. Samara and Thane chuckled a little. Shepherd froze two of the klixen and threw them back at the swarm, when it defrosted it exploded taking the others with it. Grunt and Tali pushed them back with a shotgun blast, lowering their numbers. After a while, the klixen stopped coming, they had survived another wave. They could breathe at least for a little while.

"How are we on ammo?" Shepherd asked.

"We're almost out, that last battle took lot out of us" Tali said. "Are you okay, Wayne?"

"Yeah, just need to catch my breath" They then heard the booming voice again. Shepherd groaned. "So much for catching a break"

"_**Now all krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival"**_

The team felt rumbling beneath their feet, it almost took them off their feet. "Something big is coming our way" Shepherd said.

"I'm ready" Grunt growled.

"Look!" Tali said pointing to the north. Out of the ground, came a gigantic Thresher Maw coming at them.

"Aw you got be fucking kidding me!" Shepherd said disbelief. The thresher maw spat out acid and the team jumped out-of-the-way. The team got to cover. "Goddamn Wrex, he never told me about a fucking Thresher Maw"

"This is crazy we can't beat that thing without a tank!" Tali said. They then heard Grunt laugh.

"The perfect test of my abilities, I will savor this" he said.

"Keelah, you're crazy"

"Maybe not, switch your heavy weapons" Shepherd said. Tali and Grunt nodded. "Give me time to charge the Cain, so I can wipe it out"

"Ok"

"Both of you be careful" They nodded. Tali and Grunt took opposite directions to draw it from Shepherd. Tali used her missile launcher to break its hard skin, while Grunt used the hydra to lock it down. The maw disappeared underground.

"It's gone" Tali said.

"Keep moving it can appear from anywhere" Shepherd said running.

"Wayne, behind you!" Tali said. The maw appeared behind Shepherd and went after him. Shepherd started to run, dodging acid spit after acid spit. He found himself thankful for Cerberus' upgrades; it was barely helping Shepherd keeping himself out of the maw's mouth. The Spectre zigzagged across the field and leaping over obstacles hoping that would slow down the maw so he could break away, he had no such luck.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Shepherd cursed. The maw was gaining speed, the mako was looking pretty good now.

"Grunt!" Tali said. Grunt nodded and the two fired at the maw to slow it down. When Shepherd got far enough, he pulled the trigger. The blast went inside the Maw's mouth, the creature screeched as the heat from the blast was scorched the insides of the Maw. The recoil and the blast pushed him back against the wall hard. When then explosion subsided, all that was left was the charred remains of a Thresher Maw, the destructive power of the Cain struck again. The spectre fell to ground exhausted, Tali came to Shepherd's side.

"Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

Shepherd smirked and laughed tiredly. "Hell of a ride" he said. Tali punched him in the arm.

"Bosh'tet" Grunt came up to them; his eyes lit up with joy, Shepherd could tell that the young krogan was a lot less angry than before. Then he realized what the rite was really about, it was a way to help young krogans burn away their excess anger allowing them to be a part of society.

"That was amazing, Shepherd, the way you killed that Thresher Maw was awe-inspiring" he said with glee. "It was quite a work of art"

Shepherd shook his head. "Leave it to a krogan to see killing a Thresher maw as art" he then heard Grunt growl facing the east. "What is it?"

"We have company" Appearing from the dust was Uvenk and his men. Shepherd frowned and got his weapon ready for a new fight. Meanwhile the Normandy crew was watching from the sides, worried about what was going to happen next.

"What does that idiot thinks he's doing?" Wrex asked with a frown. Garrus got up with his rifle drawn. Kaiden got up also.

"I don't know, but I don't like it" he said. Wrex looked down at the battlefield and narrowed his eyes.

"Wait, let's wait and see"

Garrus and Kaiden looked at each other. "Why? They could be in trouble" Kaiden said.

Wrex gave a smirk. "I don't think we have to worry" Garrus and Kaiden sat back down and watched. Back on the battlefield, Shepherd and team was waiting for the first move, but surprisingly nothing happened, still they didn't lower their guard.

"You live and you took down a Thresher Maw. None has done that in generations, Urdnot Wrex was the last" Uvenk said.

"My krantt gave me strength beyond my genes, which are damned good"

"This will cause discussion. I wonder…you say you are pure? No alien meddling in you construction? Just warlord Okeer?"

"Get to your point, what do you want, Okeer?" Shepherd said. "If you want to kill him, give it your best shot"

"Not yet this deserves consideration"

"First you wanted to block him from his rite, now you're considering him?" Tali said. "What game are you playing?"

"He is powerful, but he's also a mistake, but your potential could tip the balance of the clans"

Shepherd narrowed his eyes. "I get it, this is politics, you don't give a damn about Grunt"

"You spit on my father's name, on Shepherd's name, and you expect me to join you?"

"With restrictions of course. You could not breed or serve on an alien ship, but you'd be clan in name"

"You would have me as a trophy and a puppet to wave over Wrex, this is not what true krogan do" Grunt said pointing his shotgun at him. "You are a pretender, Uvenk"

Uvenk growled. "Your head is valuable whether you're dead or alive"

"Just try and take it!" Shepherd glowed while Tali pointed her weapon at them.

"KILL THEM!" Uvenk ordered. Shepherd and team got to cover as Uvenk and his krantts fired carnage blasts at them. Shepherd got the Cain out once more and pulled the trigger eliminating Uvenk's Krantt, only leaving Uvenk. Grunt got out of cover.

"Go kick his ass" Shepherd said. Grunt gave a feral grin and charged at Uvenk. The older krogan tried to blast him with warp fields, but the young krogan was too fast. He rammed him hard and Uvenk fell back. The older krogan punch Grunt hard in the face and Grunt responded in kind with a head-butt that stunned him. Before Uvenk could recover, Grunt fired a concussive shot at point-blank range; cracking his armor and making him fall back.

"W-What are you?!" Uvenk asked in fear. Grunt grinned and then forced his shotgun in Uvenk's mouth.

"I AM KROGAN!" he said firing his shotgun multiple times until there was no head left. Grunt gave a victorious roar and the krogans in the stands joined in the roar.

Wrex gave a hardy laugh. "Uvenk chewed off more that he could handle" he said. "Good riddance I say"

Kaiden raised his brow. "Why do I get the feeling you were hoping for this?"

"I never did trust Uvenk, he was always a problem, but I never did anything so I could keep the peace" he said "we don't need the clans fighting each other anymore, not when the reapers could show their ugly faces at anytime"

"So what will happen to Uvenk's clan?" Garrus asked.

"The females, the young, and remnants of clan Gatatog will be adopted into clan Urdnot"

"You keep the peace and Clan Urdnot grows in strength" Garrus said. "Has anyone ever told you you'd make a good politician?"

"I have no idea what you mean" he said with a smirk.

"Uh-huh…"

"So what happens with Grunt now?" Kaiden asked.

Wrex chuckled. "We welcome the newest member of Clan Urdnot with a feast and party" he said looking at Grunt. "Things have just gotten interesting"


	46. Chapter 38: Man's best friend

**Chapter 38: Man's best friend**

Later that night, Clan Urdnot and clans affiliated with Urdnot gathered together in welcoming the newest member of the Clan. Shepherd and the Normandy crew was invited in joining in the festivities, however saying that the krogan were hard partyers was an understatement of the year. The area they were in was nice…less beaten up than the rest of Tunchanka, Wrex had explained that before the nuclear war it was banquet hall of a long dead krogan clan. Also invited to the festivities were the female clans, the team had never seen female krogan before until it was explained that females never leave the planet. They were smaller than the male krogans, but still towered non-krogan, and to their surprise much more civil. The food in the banquet hall was strange to be sure, pyjak meat, maw heart, and Harvester meat, once everything was set up Wrex raised his hand and the krogan quieted down. The shaman spoke up.

"We are here today, because Grunt has passed his rite of passage, earning the honor of clan and name" he started. He then turned to Grunt who then stood and approached the Shaman. "Many survive, but it has been years since a Thresher Maw fell! You and your krantt's name shall live in glory" Grunt kneeled before the Shaman, Shepherd smiled taking pride in the young krogan.

"Grunt, you are Urdnot. You may now own property, join the army, and apply to serve under a battlemaster" he said. "Who shall be your battlemaster, Grunt? The one that you're willing to fight and die for, just as they would do the same"

"Shepherd is my battlemaster, he has no match"

The shaman smirked and looked at the spectre. "Interesting, it's not every day a krogan choses an alien as a battlemaster" he said. "Your skills speak well for you, Shepherd"

"An alien as a battlemaster, absurd" one of the krogan said.

Grunt growled and looked around the room not at all amused by the outburst. "Who dares insults my battlemaster?" One of them stood up. He was a large krogan wearing blue armor, he large even larger than Wrex or Grunt, he had a yellow fringe. He pointed at Shepherd.

"I do, this puny human, a battlemaster?" he said. "You have better chance making a pyjak one" His men all laughed as Grunt growled at the insult. "Let us take the tank-bred, we'll teach him how to be a real krogan" His men around him all grumbled in agreement.

Garrus whispered to Wrex. "Who's he?"

Wrex sighed. "Granvik, leader of Clan Yatav, they are the brother clan of Clan Gatatog" he said. "Just like Uvenk, Granvik was against me from the beginning"

Shepherd got up from his seat and chuckled. "You know the idiots that doubt my abilities, they tend to die horribly" he said. "Just saying..."

"Is that a challenge, human?" Granvik growled. Shepherd gave a feral grin, and Tali paled, she knew that grin, it was the tell-tell sign of Shepherd about to do something incredibly, incredibly stupid.

"Uh-oh" Kaiden said.

Tali palmed her face. "Oh no…" Miranda spoke up.

"I take it Shepherd does this a lot"

"You have no idea…"

Then Granvik gave an unsettling grin. "A human with a quad, interesting…" He was impressed by the human standing up to him, his eyes showed no fear. Wrex once told the krogan that Shepherd was the most dangerous human in the galaxy, that he even saved the Citadel from destruction. He and other believed them to tall-tales from the clan leader's travels, but after Grunt's rite, he wished to test the stories himself. He gazed at the Shaman. "Set it up" The setting then changed moments later, to small room with a large circle in the middle, the crowds of krogan crowding the sides. Normandy crew came in last and was seated in front with Wrex as the two men came in and took their place in the middle, both sporting vicious grins.

The Shaman gave a booming laugher. "A bout between battlemasters, but it would be boring if there's nothing a stake" he looked at Granvik. "What will you wager?"

"Five of my clan's most fertile females, if this human manage to defeat me" he said. The krogan grumbled in surprise, a fertile female was the most prized of any krogan clan since the Genophage. An offspring was what kept a clan alive and by extension the krogan people, for him to make such wager meant he was awfully confident. The Shaman nodded and looked at Shepherd.

"And you Shepherd?"

"If he wins, then I'll relinquish my title of battle…"

"No human, if I win then Grunt will join my clan" Granvik said. "Unless the human and Urdnot's Clan leader is afraid."

Wrex smirked. "I accept your challenge" The crew looked at Wrex.

"You sure about this Wrex?" Garrus asked.

"Yes I have no doubt Shepherd will win" he said.

"Your faith in the human will be your downfall" Granvik said with a smirk. And with that fight began with the cheers of the krogan roaring in background. The two men circled each other looking for an opening to exploit; meanwhile Tali prayed to her ancestors that Shepherd's latest impulse don't get him killed. "I'll be honest, I was looking forward to facing the great 'Hero of the Citadel', and I want to see if you live up to your name"

"Why don't you find out?" Shepherd asked with smirk. Granvik charged at Shepherd, giving a flurry of blows, but the commander just casually dodged his blows, his expression not changing. Shepherd struck back with flurry of blows, but the large krogan blocked them with no problem, the spectre tried for a kick, but Granvik grabbed it and tossed him to the floor. He then went in to stomp on him but the spectre rolled out the way and countered with a strong biotic kick to the side.

"Not bad for a human" Granvik said. "Not good either!"

"We'll see" he said. Granvik charged at him again and Shepherd kept on dodging his blows, until a stray rock on the field cause him to lose balance. Granvik smirked and gave a hard right to Shepherd's face and the hard charge to Shepherd's chest.

"Wayne!" Tali gasped. Granvik went in for another right and Shepherd blocked it only for him to be opened to a hard headbutt to the face. Then a volley of punches. The shaman leaned in to Wrex.

"This isn't good, Wrex, if this continues Shepherd will die"

"Just wait for it" Wrex said. Granvik kept up with the assault with Shepherd in the defense.

"This is the great Shepherd? Your victory over Uvenk was nothing more than luck, the tank-bred chose poorly" Shepherd block his left hook and Granvik smirked, the human left himself open. All of the sudden, Shepherd was gone and he felt something cold beneath his feet, he looked down and saw ice on the floor. "Ice? You think you can stop me with ice?!"

"And it's over…" Wrex said. The krogan charged at the human, but then he felt himself slipping, as he tried to regain his balance, Shepherd glowed blue and gave a hard biotic punch to Granvik's face. With the ice on the floor, he slipped, and fell on his back before he could get up, Shepherd appeared over him, and let loose a volley of biotic punches in the chest over and over, until he left the large krogan dazed in a small crater.

"Do you yield, Yatav Granvik?" The shaman said.

"I…I yield" he said reluctantly.

"Then as promised, you shall give up five of your females to Clan Urdnot" Shepherd panted and collapsed one knee, he had won, but that fight took a lot out of him. Tali ran up and helped him to his feet. Wrex walked up to him.

"Nice work Shepherd, I almost want to make you an honorary krogan" Wrex said with a smirk.

"You mean I wasn't?" Shepherd joked tiredly.

"Good point"

The festivities went underway; the krogans partied hard and drank hard. So did the Normandy crew, Garrus was comparing scars with other krogan, Zaeed was sharing old war stories, and Jack was trying to drink one of them under the table. Miranda and Jacob went somewhere to be alone. Shepherd however was getting the cold shoulder from Tali, over him accepting Granvik's challenge while she was fixing him up with medi-gel. Tali put medi-gel over his busted lip and Shepherd winced in pain from the stinging. Shepherd tried speaking, but Tali beat him to the punch.

"You stupid bosh'tet, of all the stupidest things you have done, this is it" Tali said. "Are you crazy, Wayne? Challenging that krogan to a fight, really?" Shepherd rubbed his head sheepishly. "I mean what would have happened if he had killed you, do you even know that what have done to us, to me?" Shepherd was silent; he didn't think of that, he didn't think at all. "Danm it Wayne, we just got you back! Just because Cerberus made you stronger doesn't mean you're invincible!" She finished with the medi-gel and Shepherd spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, you're right" he said. "I promise not to do that again"

Tali crossed her arms and turned away from him, not believing it, Shepherd came close to her. "Let me make it up to you, please" Tali turned around and crossed her arms.

"Fine, but you have a lot make up for" she said.

"Any ideas?" He asked with a smirk.

"Well…" she said sultry. "You could help me with the shopping" Shepherd blinked.

"What?"

"Help me with the shopping for the Normandy, what you thought I was suggesting" she said. Shepherd blushed. Tali giggled. "Pervert, although help me out, and well…"

"Hot damn, let's get started" He said grabbing her hand as Tali giggled. The two went to the outpost store, and met with a Krogan and near him was a big tan varren with black stripes on its back. When the krogan saw the two of them, you would think he saw a celebrity, though they kinda were.

"You're the human and Quarian that fought with the tank-bred" he said. "What can I do you for?"

"We're looking for parts for our ship" Tali said.

"We got some pretty old stuff, anything you need?"

"Let me look, this won't take long, Wayne "Tali said looking through the parts. Shepherd nodded. As he waited for Tali, he took the time to eat some grilled pyjak, as he took from the party; just as he was about to take a bite the varren came up to him.

"What do you want?" Shepherd asked. The varren stared at the grilled pyjak, wiggling his tail. "No! Get away" he said. The varren lowered his head, and a grunting sound was made, almost like he was whining. Shepherd didn't know why, but it was almost cute, if you could look past the fact that it looked like a cross between a fish, lizard, and a dog. Shepherd was about eat it, when the varren brushed up against his leg, and did a strange guttural sound like it was purring. It really wanted the pyjak. Shepherd sighed. "Here" He threw the food in the air and the varren caught it. The varren's eyes lit up and it pounced Shepherd and licked him. He then heard a shriek, it was Tali.

"Get off of him, bosh'tet!" She said getting her shotgun out. The varren got off him and went behind Shepherd. Tali stopped and tilted her head. "What?"

"I think you scared him" he said. He then faced the varren, crouched down petting him, it was so strange, its skin was cool and smooth to the touch. "It's okay, the scary Quarian is really a nice girl when you get to know her" he joked.

"Bosh'tet…"

"So what your name?" he asked. The varren looked at him strangely. They then heard a voice.

"His name is Urz" the krogan said. "He's taken a liken to you, human, which means, he's stuck with you"

"What do you mean?"

"Varren, tend to become attacted to those they consider a member of their pack" he said. "Which mean he's loyal to you"

"What happen to his last owner?" Tali asked.

"His owner got exiled when he tried to kill the clan leader, but he's never bonded with anyone else. Until now" Urz wagged his tail as he looked at Shepherd. The krogan laughed. "I think he wants to go with you"

"Thanks, but no, I don't know how the crew is going to react to Urz's presence, we're so used to killing varren after all" Tali said.

"Come on, Tali, how can you resist a face like that?" Shepherd asked. Tali looked at the Urz as he looked at her, almost like he was begging her. She had to admit, Urz was cute, in his own way.

Tali sighed. "He's cute, but how will the others react?"

"Only one way to find out" The team went back to the ship, Shepherd and Tali snuck Urz on board, it was hard to keep him hidden due to him wanting to explore every ounce of the ship. Shepherd had gathered the team in the conference room for their little surprise.

"What's this about, cuz?" Kasumi asked.

"You guys are here to meet our newest member of the Normandy crew"

"New member? I haven't gotten any dossiers from the Illusive Man" Miranda said. Shepherd and Tali moved to reveal Urz. The team looked very surprised at the sight of the varren, Urz for his part just yawned a scratched himself not concerned with the looks.

"A varren?!" she asked. "You recruited a varren?"

"Actually it's more like, he followed us, you see I kinda fed him, he took a liking to me" he said. "So he kinda staying"

Miranda sighed. "Fine, but he's your responsibility" she said walking away. She looked back. "And keep it away from me"

"So how do you guys feel?" Shepherd asked. To his surprise the crew, especially the women, had taken a liking to varren. Kelly, Kasumi, and Lia especially, treating the varren like an overgrown puppy. Even Jack was warming up to the varren, as she sort of petted him, when Urz licked her hand. As for the guys, well they were indifferent and as was Urz, Shepherd had the feeling he like the girls more than guys.

Tali chuckled. "I think he'll fit in just fine" Mordin entered the room and looked at Urz, he raised a brow.

"Ah varren, sturdy creatures" he said. "Shepherd I need your help"

"What is it?"

Mordin sniffed. "Colleague captured by Blood Pack, he may be tortured, because he worked on Genophage, I fear for his life"

"Okay, first thing in the morning, we'll see Wrex"

"Thank you, Shepherd"


	47. Chapter 39: Old Blood pt1

**Chapter 39: Old Blood pt.1**

_**Ten years ago-Sur'Kesh STG Base**_

_The Special Tasks Group (STG) is a salarian espionage organization, usually deployed by the Citadel Council. STG operators work in independent cells, performing dangerous missions such as counterterrorism, infiltration, reconnaissance, assassination, and sabotage. It was a big day at the STG base on the Salarian homeworld, as the operatives waited on bated breath for an important signal, a signal that meant the difference between peace and war._

"_Package has landed, I repeat Package has landed" a salarian said. "Now deploying…" Huge cheers erupted inside the base; the galaxy was safe, at least for a while. "Wait!" The operatives quieted down, as they heard roars and gunshots could be heard._

"_Shit! Krogan scouts, engaging them now" The sounds of battle could be heard for several minutes, the STG looked on at the vid nervously, if at least one scout finds out about their presence and reports to the warlord it was all over. The camera shifted to the left and a salarian went down when a krogan swiped at him, resulting in injuries to his face and right cranial horn. "Mordin!"_

_**Mordin-Tuchanka**_

"_I'm fine, protect package!" Mordin rolled out the krogan's feet and got out his assault rifle, he shot the krogan dead in the chest, but he still came charging. He lowered his gun and shot at his leg tripping him and then roasted him with an incretion blast. He looked around and saw his team quickly take down the other scouts quickly, salarians may not be the sturdiest of the three Council races, but they could pretty much outthink anyone. After the battle, batched himself up with medi-gel to stop the bleeding, the rest was going to have to wait until they got back to Sur'Kesh. They went into a big tower named the Shroud, a salarian construct on the surface of Tuchanka. It was originally built to stabilize the atmosphere of Tuchanka due to the self-induced nuclear winter of the krogan._

_The Shroud was deployed through the use of a number of ground-based towers, which acted as mass-drivers that launched the Shroud's components into orbit. Later, all but one of these towers were destroyed; this remaining tower became known as the Shroud, although the label is technically incorrect. The Shroud tower was repurposed to disperse particles and chemicals into Tuchanka's atmosphere, primarily for climate-control purposes. And now it would be key to ensure galactic peace. _

"_Package all set, activating Shroud" The machines in the tower hummed as it came to life. "Green across the board! We did it!" The Salarians exited the tower as their shuttle, as the rest of his team came aboard, Mordin looked at the dead krogans and bowed his head in prayer. The krogan wasn't doing anything bad, just doing their jobs, but unfortunately it was in conflict with their jobs._

"_Do not expect forgiveness, did what I must" Mordin said. "Necessary" He went to the Shuttle as it flew back to their ride to Sur'Kesh._

_**Now**_

Shepherd, Mordin, and Kaiden made their way to Wrex on the salarian's assistant. As they walked, the krogan looked at the salarian with such hatred and contempt, Mordin was thankful to have Shepherd with him. Due to Shepherd's performance days ago, they were forbidden by the leader from touching him or his allies. As they walked to the main area, Mordin revealed more of his past as a STG member. Despite the hardship of that day, Mordin would remember those days fondly, devoting his time to endless scientific research and discovery with people he respected and admired.

"You know about the genophage?" he asked.

"Yeah, isn't the bug that sterilized the krogan?" Shepherd asked.

Mordin shook his head; it was the typical response from aliens thinking the Genophage was a sterility plague. "Not sterilized, but lowered their incredible birthrates" he said. "Virus released thousand years ago. Controlled birth rates ever since. All public knowledge, but I know more"

"What do you mean more?" Kaiden asked.

Mordin looked around as to see if any of the krogans were listening in, even after being out of the STG for ten years he still to be careful with the organization's secrets. "Recent generations of krogan started adapting, genophage losing effectiveness" he whispered.

"That's good news, the krogan can recover to what happened to them" he said.

"No, krogan too warlike, culture broken. Population increase now would lead to increased aggression, more war." He said. "Personally lead a team, created new version of genophage, released it on Tuchanka, and other colonies. Restabilized krogan population"

Shepherd frowned. "The first genophage was a mistake boarding on a war crime! How the hell can you do it again?"

Mordin sighed. "Exactly the reaction feared, in small numbers, krogan sympathetic, tragic. Galactic regret for deployment of genophage" he said. "But in large numbers, expansion, aggression, war. Krogan too dangerous. Had to stop them"

"On what proof? Because it sounds to me that the Krogan are no different from the rest of sentient life in the galaxy"

"Genophage was necessary, cultural fragmentation made modification even more necessary"

Shepherd scoffed. "Necessary…Two hundred years ago humans thought imprisoning people, because of their race, was necessary, because they might sympathize with the people they were fighting with"

"Ah Human history, World War 2, American Government imprisons its Japanese citizens, regretful, but also not relevant, Japanese didn't cause the end of galaxy as we know it " Mordin said. "Can suggest ethics later more immediate concerns" They made it to Wrex, the krogan turns his head at the team and welcomes his old friend.

"Shepherd, can't keep away I see"

"Come on, you know how much I miss your cheerful personality, Wrex" Shepherd said with a smirk. Mordin tilted his head in confusion, it was so strange to see a krogan be so civil with an alien, ever since the Rebellions the krogans didn't trust much aliens. Kaiden leaned in.

"Wrex is an old friend of ours, he helped us against Saren and Sovereign" he explained.

"Ah, I see, he considers you his krantt" Mordin said.

"So what do you need?" Wrex asked.

"I'm looking for a salarian; he was captured by the Blood Pack and brought here"

"My scout commander can help you; he's probably near the perimeter running target practice" he said. "Don't take too much of his time, I need constant watch on the clan"

"Thanks, we'll speak later" Mordin was surprised that Wrex would just agree to help, just like that even though they hated his people. Civil and helpful, Mordin had started to wonder if he and his people were wrong about the krogan. The team made it to the chief scout inside of an outpost with a huge gun pointing out of the horizon. The chief was less than polite, as he looked at them and scoffed, he then turned his back to then, looking out at his post.

"What do you want, human? Wrex told me to be polite. He didn't say you were going to talk to me" he said.

"We're looking for a salarian, The Blood Pack captured him and he was last seen here" Kaiden said.

The scout looked at them. "Blood Pack huh? Poor bastard that means Clan Weylec has him" he said.

"How bad are they?" Shepherd asked.

"They're a relatively small clan, but they have the reputation as the most vicious, as they started the Blood pack" he said. "I sent a scout to check it out, but he never came back, I think they got him"

"Why not get him back?"

"I would, nothing would make happier to crack some heads and get my men back, but I would risk a confrontation between clans" he said. "And things are fragile enough"

"Hmm, Krogan using head, for other than head-butting surprising" Mordin said. The chief looked at Mordin.

He snorted. "Typical" he said. "Anyway, the chief told me to give one of the trucks, just follow the highway to Weyloc's base, if you got the quads to deal with him and the Blood Pack"

They took the tomkah, Shepherd and the squad rolled across the ruins of Tuchanka. As they were riding Mordin shook his head, as he saw the ruined landscape of the planet, a planet they nuked of their own choice. "Such a waste…" he muttered sadly. Shepherd looked at him, as looked out the window with a melancholy expression.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes, of course" he said as looked in the window. "We're here" the truck stopped before a large grey structure, from the looks of it, it was a medical facility from the red cross on the wall, it looked like something's are just universal. The building wasn't pretty to look at, then again most things wasn't pretty on Tuchanka, however if there was one thing they noticed it how it was still standing even as everything was razed to the ground. A testament to Krogan architecture.

"Amazing, even though they bombed their own homeworld, some buildings are still standing" Kaiden said.

"Repurposed krogan hospital, sturdy. Built to withstand punishment" Mordin said. Entering the hospital they only had one way to go down the stairs. At the first landing they find a dead naked human body. The first human they've seen, not counting members of the crew.

"Any idea what happened to this guy, Mordin?" Shepherd asked, gesturing towards the body.

Mordin came to the side of the man and opened his omni-tool. "Sores, tumors, ligatures showing restraint at wrists and ankles. Track makes for repeated injection sites" he said grimly. "Victim of experimentation" Shepherd and Kaiden grimaced at his words, even more when Mordin turned him over to reveal the deformities, the cuts, the bruises, and the dried blood on the body. It reminded them of that one mission with Dr. Saleon from two years ago.

"Why would they test something like that on a human?" Kaiden asked, looking more than a little ill at the sight of the desiccated corpse. "Wouldn't something native make more sense?"

"Humans useful as test subject. Genetically diverse. Enables exploration of treatment modalities" he said. "Early stages, later stages would likely involve test on local fauna. Probably varren. Would have to be careful, nasty bite"

"I know we all look different, but how are humans generically diverse?" Shepherd asked.

"No beyond the superficial, humans more variable. Peaks and valleys, mutations, and adaptations. Far beyond other life" he said. "It's down to genetic code, biotic abilities, intelligence levels. Can look at random asari, krogan, and make reasonable. Humans to varied to judge, why humans are so feared and yet respected, your species' unpredictability is embedded in your DNA"

"So you think they kidnapped Maelon to help them cure the genophage?"

Mordin frowned, looking down at the dead human. "Logical conclusion, if they discovered identity of members of my team then they could have surmised that Maelon would have the necessary knowledge to reverse engineer a cure." He said.

"This disturbs you, doesn't it?" Kaiden asked.

"Never used live subjects, disgusting, unethical, sloppy" he growled surprising his two human teammates. "Used by brute force researchers, not thinkers. No place in proper science"

"I imagine you had to use live subjects at some point for the new genophage"

He calmed a little. "No. Unnecessary. Limited test to simulations, corpses, cloned tissue samples. High-level tests on varren" Mordin said. "No tests on species with members capable of calculus. Simple rule, never broke it."

"Now we got two reasons to shut this place down" Shepherd said.

"Yes focus on Maelon, too late for the dead" The team turned the corner and ended up in a big area full of boxes. At the ramp above them, the door opened and they were met with a couple of krogan and vorcha; the team had their weapons ready. A krogan in red and silver armor walked to the front.

"I am the speaker of Clan Weyrloc, aliens. You have shed our blood, by rights you should be dead already" he said. "But Weyrloc Guld, the chief of chiefs, has ordered that you be given leave to flee and spread the message of our coming"

"Krogan tend to not let people go. What are you planning?"

"If you walk away now, you can tell your children that you saw Clan Weyrloc before our Blood Pack conquered the stars" he said. The krogan scoffed. "You think the Urdnot impressive? They are pitiful. Weyrloc Guld will destroy them. The genophage will be cured and Clan Weyrloc will spread across the galaxy in a sea of blood"

"Appears they discovered Maelon's work, unfortunate"

"It doesn't have to be like this. We can understand wanting to cure the genophage…" Kaiden started.

The krogan then growled. "No human you know nothing! You haven't seen of children that never lived." He said. "The krogan were wronged! We will make it right and then we will have our revenge!"

"Half the galaxy sees the krogan as victims! If you start a war, you'll lose their support!"

"We have the Blood Pack, and we have the salarian! When our clan is in the millions, we will not need support" he said. "When we cure the genophage, Weyrloc Guld will rule all krogan! The Krogan rebellions will be the Krogan Empire"

While the krogan was rambling on Shepherd saw a piece of white pipe, exposed where the plaster on the wall had fallen away beneath the clanspeaker's feet. Orange-red stripes adorned it every few inches. A feral smirk spread across the human's face. "You talk too much," Shepherd said. He dropped the sight of his pistol and fired a single round into the exposed pipe. The hiss of gas escaped its pressurized containment was barely audible, but apparently enough that the two guards began to edge away slowly.

"Ha! The human cannot even hit a simple target," the krogan laughed, waving dismissively at them.

"Wasn't aiming at you, dumbass" he said pulling the trigger. The round struck the metal railing with a spark... and ignited the gas in a thunderous boom that engulfed the krogan in flame. He had time to give a gurgling cry before smashing into the nearby wall from the force of the blast, still smoldering. The room erupted in a torrent of mass accelerator rounds. Two guards emerged from the other room at the sound of the explosion and immediately opened fire on the team as they got to cover.

Shepherd cracked his neck. "And now it gets fun"


	48. Chapter 40: Old Blood pt2

**Chapter 40: Old Blood pt.2**

The vorcha and krogan came down in force, the vorcha took their place above the ramps shooting the team, as the krogan went down to get up close and personal. Shepherd took out his heavy pistol and shot one of the vorcha in the head making him fall off the rails. "One down" Shepherd said. Gunfire from the krogan shotguns hit Shepherd in the side shattering his shield and causing him to fall to the ground. It was good thing he upgraded his shields and armor, krogan weapons were infamous for their destructive power. Before the krogans could close the distance with Shepherd, Kaiden and Mordin crippled the krogans with a neural shock, giving the spectre time to recover. However the vorcha were not, making it easy as they were trying tying to lock Shepherd down. Kaiden froze one of the vorcha solid, the spectre threw a warp field, causing a chain reaction and freezing the vorcha in the area.

"Neural shock wearing off krogan, must finish battle" Mordin said. Shepherd nodded and then got out his Arc Projector, frying every enemy in its path. The battle ended, and the team went on through the hospital. As they walked, a sickening smell flowed into their noses, it almost made Shepherd and Kaiden gag, and they suddenly wished they had their masks guard the smell. Mordin however was fazed due to his history as STG and doctor on Omega. The team came to a fork and salarian sniffed the air and pointed to the left.

"Labs likely through there can smell antiseptic and dead flesh" Mordin said.

"That's a nice thought, thanks Mordin" Kaiden said grimly. They entered next area, Mordin checked the terminal.

"Active console. May contain useful data. One moment" the salarian said. "Genetic sequences. Hormone mutagen still steady. Protein chains, live tissue, cloned tissue. Very thorough"

"Speak English" Shepherd said annoyed.

"He means they have an extensive database for the experiments" Kaiden translated.

"Oh is that all?" Mordin continued.

"Standard treatment vectors. Avoiding scorched earth immunosuppressants to alter hormone levels. Good. Hate to see that."

Shepherd crossed his arms. "Most people wouldn't be so causal about a sterility plague, Mordin" he said.

The salarian sighed. "Not developing. Modifying. Much more difficult. Working within confines of existing genophage. A hundred times the complexity." Mordin said. "Errors unacceptable. Could cause total sterility, malignant tumors. Could even reduce effectiveness. Worse than doing nothing, had to keep krogan population stable. One in one thousand. Perfect target, optimal. Like gardening"

"Wait, you're saying you were working just as hard to keep their population from falling?" Kaiden asked.

"Yes, could have eradicated krogan. Not difficult. Increased mutation to degrade genetic structure further. Chose not to" he said. "Rachni extinction tragic. Didn't want to repeat. All life precious. Universe demand diversity"

"I doubt the krogan sees it that way"

"Genophage not punishment. Simply alters fertility to correct for removal from hostile environment"

"Maybe, come on let's go" Shepherd said. They go into the next room, and gasped at the horror there, the wall and floors was smeared with blood and there were multiple bodies on the tables some krogan, but from the looks of it most were human. Some were covered up and some were opened up, they could see multiple organs on the table, and some on the floor, it was like a scene out of a horror movie than hospital. They walked in to examine one of the bodies, a dead krogan; Mordin picked up the datapad. He shook his head.

"Dead krogan. Female. Tumors indicate experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer" He said sadly. Shepherd and Kaiden looked at each other shocked, Mordin continued. "Sterile Weyrloc female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure. Pointless. Pointless waste of life"

"Hmm, didn't expect to be disturbed at the sight of a dead krogan" Shepherd said bluntly. Mordin glared at him.

"What? Why? Because of genophage work? Irrelevant. No, causative" he shot back. "Never experimented with live krogan. Never killed with medicine. Her death is not my work, only reaction to it"

"I don't see the distinction, Mordin, directly or indirectly, she still chose to be experimented on like an animal, because of your people's work"

Mordin was taken aback and looked at the female. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. "Never wanted this. Can see it logically…but still unnecessary. Foolish waste of life, hate to see it"

"I didn't think you had much contact with things like this. Did you come to Tuchanka after dropping your plague?" Kaiden asked.

The salarian sighed. "Yearly recon missions. Water, tissue samples. Ensure no mistakes. Superiors offered to carry it on. Refused. Need to see it in person." He said sadly. "Need to look. Need to see. Accept it as necessary. See small picture. Remind myself why I run a clinic on Omega"

Shaking his head the salarian approached, smoothing the sheet with his hand. "Rest young mother. Find your gods. Find some place better."

"I didn't expect spirituality from you, Mordin," Shepherd said, surprised.

He frowned. "Genophage project altered millions of lives. Then saw results. Ego, humility. Frailty of life. Size of universe" Mordin said. "Explored religions after work completed. Different faiths, different races. No answers. So many questions."

"Sounds like you were trying to deal with your guilty conscience. The doctor who killed millions"

"Modified genophage project great in scope. Scientifically brilliant, but ethnically difficult. Krogan reaction visceral, tragic" he said. Mordin shook his head. "Not guilty, but responsible. Trained as doctor. Genophage affects fertility. Doesn't kill, still caused this. Hard to see big picture behind pile of corpses"

"Can you just rationalize it all away? How do you justify it?" Kaiden asked.

The salarian sighed. "Wheel of life. Popular salarian concept. Similar to human Hinduism in focus on reincarnation" he said. "Appealing to see life as endless. Make mistakes in this one, fix it in next. Learn, adapt, and improve." Mordin looked at the krogan and sighed. "Refuse to believe life ends here. Too wasteful. Have more to offer. Mistakes to fix. Cannot end here. Could do so much more"

"If you need this much soul-searching to get over it, then maybe the genophage was wrong" Kaiden said.

"Had to be done. Rachni Wars, Krogan Rebellions all pointed to krogan aggression" Mordin said." So many simulations. Effects of krogan increase. All pointed to war, extinction, Genophage or genocide. Save galaxy from krogan. Save krogan from galaxy"

"Look at the dead woman, Mordin. It doesn't look like you saved her" Shepherd said walking away.

"No it doesn't" Mordin said sadly. "Worked with available data. Only option. No other possible…doesn't matter"

"Then maybe it's time to look outside the microscope and computer program" Kaiden said following Shepherd. Mordin walked away too, not before looking back at the female krogan.

"Was our own fault. Tried to fix it…" Mordin whispered. "Aware of the costs."

They moved down the hall until they reached a door on the right hand side. They open the door to see a krogan sitting on the floor. He looked up at the team surprised to see them. "You killed the Blood Pack guards" he said. Mordin leaned into Shepherd.

"Not Blood Pack, not Clan Weyrloc. Wrong markings" Mordin said.

"I'm a Urdnot scout, Weyrloc guards got me. Brought me here" he said. He looked tired, like he hasn't slept for days. Armor was full of scratches and cracks, his face were full of cuts and bruises, most of which wasn't fully healed. Krogan were known for their healing abilities, for them to not be healed, meant that Weyrloc beat him down good.

"The chief scout told us to watch for you. We've taken care of the guards. Get back to camp"

"I can't, The Weyrloc did things to me. Drugs, injections. They said I was sacrificing for the good of all krogan" he said.

"And you believed them?" Kaiden asked. "Unbelievible…"

"Mordin can you get this idiot off his feet?" Shepherd asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not too sick to leave. I have to stay" he said. "They're curing the genophage; they're going to make it all better! They have to keep doing the test"

"Caution, patient unstable, brainwashed" Mordin said.

"Why do you want them to keep doing the tests?"

"This is my fault. I got caught, wasn't strong enough. This is the best I can do. This is all I can do." He said. I'm not big enough to have a shot with the females. I'll never have kids of my own, but if help cure the genophage, and then I matter"

"God you're pathetic, all you got is a bruised ego! You got caught and beaten, so you tell yourself it was something important" Shepherd said with a scoff.

The krogan frowned; Kaiden and Mordin looked at Shepherd nervously. "Wayne…"

"That's not true! I need to stay! They're going to cure us all"

Shepherd scoffed and knelt to his level. He looked right into his eyes. "You're not a real krogan. Real krogan don't whine like a Quarian with a tummy-ache" he said. "They get back up"

"I did! I got back up every time they hit me! So many…" the krogan said.

Shepherd smirked. "No wonder you can't get a woman, you're soft, a pitiful excuse for a krogan not even worthy to lick the dirt off my boots" he said. "If you're the best Urdnot got, then Wrex got his work cut out for him"

"Watch your mouth!" the scout growled out coldly.

Shepherd snorted. "Or what? You can't even stand, much less fight, your ass would be whipped in seconds" he said. "Such a sorry sight, you're like a vorcha grubbing in the mud, you just going to lie there, vorcha?"

The krogan growled and glared daggers at Shepherd. "Screw you, human! Nobody says that to me! Nobody keeps me down!"

"Then get the fuck off the floor and show them what a badass you are, go!" The krogan got off the floor and gave loud roar and walked out. Shepherd stood up and stretched. "Well, let's go" The team went on further into the hospital.

"Did not think that would work…Impressive work, Shepherd"

Shepherd smirked. "A talent of mine"

"Ah-huh…You do know when Tali find out about what you said about quarians; you're going to be sleeping on the couch, right?" Kaiden said with a smirk.

"Which is why you're not going to a say a goddamn thing, Kaiden"

Kaiden chuckled. "My lips are sealed."

They opened the next door and led into a room with a platform in the middle, like an atrium. The team didn't take too much time to admire the sights because the Blood Pack attacked once they went through the door. They team took cover, as the first ones to come in were the vorcha, one with a flamethrower and another with a rocket launcher. They were followed by two krogans and three varren. The team's com opened.

"Shepherd, I'm detecting crates ahead that are holding unstable materials. A misplaced shot could cause a significant explosion" EDI said.

"Or a well-placed shot. Explosive useful. Burn through krogan armor"

"Nice" Shepherd said with a smirk. Shepherd used dominate on the vorcha pyro, the vorcha attacked the krogan, and the varren. One of the varren bit the vorcha's leg and the other two quickly attacked went the pyro on the floor. Shepherd took control of the other vorcha to add to the confusion, while they were fighting, they didn't notice an explosive crate near them. Mordin lit the crate on fire and the crate exploded which overloaded the pyro senting everyone flying. They went down the stairs and got into cover. This area had more enemies and Chief Weyrloc Guld. He emerges from a door on the opposite side of the platforms from them.

"Tremble and die, alien scum! I am Weyrloc Guld, Chief of Chiefs!" the large krogan growled.

"Aw, and here I am thinking we could become best friends, too bad" Shepherd taunted.

The krogan roared. "You mock me, human?!" he said. Shepherd was thankful for the krogan's short temper, as he began to charge the spectre, allowing Kaiden and Mordin to pick off the krogan and varren with him.

"And smart too, I'm going to miss this bonding experience" Shepherd said shooting his leg with a throw field. The krogan tripped and fell at Shepherd's feet. "Hi"

"Damn you, human!" Guld growled.

"And bye" he said getting his arch projector out. Shepherd pulled the trigger and the krogan was fried with one hundred thousand volts. Kaiden and Mordin took care of the rest of the enemies with no problem. They enter the next room; Maelon was in the other end of the room scanning a holo screen with an Omni-tool. Mordin stepped past Shepherd, a frown creasing his features.

"Maelon. Alive. Unharmed. No evidence of restraints. No torture. Don't understand."

The other salarian turned, he was slightly taller than Mordin, with reddish skin and a narrower jaw. His face didn't look like that of the rescued captive; it held emotions far more unpleasant. Maelon pointed at his mentor accusingly.

"For such a smart man, professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions." He said angrily. "What will it take to make you realize I'm here because I wish to be here?"

"He came here voluntarily to cure the genophage" Kaiden said.

Mordin was taken aback. "Impossible. Whole team agreed! Project necessary!"

"How was I supposed to disagree with the great Doctor Solus? I was your student; I looked up to you as a mentor!" Maelon said angrily.

"Experiments preformed here. Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture and execution. Your doing?!"

"We already have the blood of millions on our hands, Doctor. If it takes a little more to make this right then so be it."

"No. Never taught you... this, Maelon!" he hissed. "What you did here... abominable, unacceptable!"

"So your hands are clean! What does it matters if the ground is stained with the blood of millions!" he said angrily. "You thought me that the ends justified the means. I will undo what we did, Professor. The only way I know how"

"Clan Weyrloc, are nothing but murdering thugs, if you cure them, then the galaxy might just decide to wipe everyone, you would be responsible for the end of the Krogan race" Kaiden said angrily.

"We justified this atrocity by saying the krogan would cause havoc and war if their population recovered" Maelon said. "But look at the galaxy, Geth attack the Citadel, batarians attack colonies in the Traverse... we justified our action by saying that a krogan population increase would bring war, but what if a strong krogan military could have prevented those things? Maybe your humans would never have lost Eden Prime or the geth would have been stopped before nearly destroying the Citadel."

"Bullshit, you don't know that!" Shepherd said.

"Maybe, we'll never know"

"ENOUGH! Have to end this!" Mordin said.

"Don't you see? We tried to play god and we failed!" Maelon said fanatically waving his gun. Mordin charges his former student, Maelon tries to fire but one swift punch in the face by his teacher and the gun is dropped to the floor. It was obvious while Maelon was a student of the science Mordin had taught him, he was by no means a fighter like the older salarian. Mordin had Maelon pinned to the wall with his gun up to his head. Maelon eyes went wide with fear.

"Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. Won't change. No choice Have to kill you."

Kaiden spoke up. "Wait, you're not a murderer, Mordin, you're better than this" Mordin's hand shook as he his gun stayed in Maelon's face. "If you do this, then you're proving his point"

Mordin took a deep breath. "No, not a murderer" he said lowering his gun. Maleon dropped to floor, shaken from being so close to death. Mordin put away his gun and looked at Maelon. "Finished, Maelon, get out. No Wreyloc left. Project over"

"You heard him, get out, now"

The younger salarian got up glaring at Mordin. "Where am I supposed to go?" Maelon asked.

"Don't care, Try Omega, can always use another clinic" Mordin said

"The krogan didn't deserve what we did to them, Professor. The genophage needs to end" he said walking away.

Mordin sighed and looked at the terminal. "Not like this" he said sadly. "Apologize, Shepherd. Misunderstood mission parameters, no abduction."

"You okay?" Shepherd asked.

Mordin went to the terminal. "Should have killed him. Wanted to. Easier than listening" Mordin said. "Easier for him, too. Experiments indicate how far he's fallen. Expected it from krogan, not from my own"

"Maybe you'll remember that the next time, you're discussing the ethics of the genophage"

"Yes so many variables. Stress responses, impossible to truly predict. Something to think about"

"So what happens to the cure data?" Kaiden asked.

"Could destroy it. Closure, security. Still valuable, though" Mordin said on the terminal.

"I don't agree with his methods, but he's right about one thing, the krogan don't deserve this" Shepherd said. "Save the data"

"Point taken, Shepherd. Capturing data, wiping local copy" Mordin said. "Years away from cure, but closer than starting from scratch" He pressed the button on the terminal. "Done . Ready to go, ready to be off of Tuchanka. Anywhere else. Maybe somewhere sunny"

"Let's go"

The team left the hospital, leaving behind a ghost of unspeakable nightmares.

_Troubled by Clan Weyrloc's progress toward genophage cure without Cerberus knowledge. Cure data may prove useful. Krogan dangerous, but if recruited as shock troops against Reapers, extremely valuable. Mordin's assistant is no longer a problem. Mordin will have no trouble focusing on the mission-Mission Summary_


	49. Chapter 41: Subject Zero pt1

**Chapter 41: Subject Zero pt.1**

Jack was pacing back and forth, she was restless more restless than she's ever been, after months searching Cerberus' file, she finally found it the place that made her life a living hell. She went on her omni-tool, to call Kelly. Kelly was still something of an enigma to Jack; she was Cerberus, but she warm and friendly, not like Miranda, or the Cerberus cheerleader as Jack like to call her. She was one of the people to come down and talk to her, other than Lia, and Shepherd. At first, she was hostile to red-head, she even threatened her, but she kept coming down and talking to her. Eventually, her persistence wore her down, and now she tolerates her.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Kelly asked concerned. She always did that, being concern for her, it made her uncomfortable at times, she wasn't used to it, but she had to admit, it was nice.

"Hey, Red, get me the Boy Scout" Jack said. Jack's nickname for Shepherd, despite being with Cerberus the guy was nothing short of a Saint...a saint that didn't mind solving things with a gun, but a saint nevertheless. It bugged the crap out her, she was starting to trust them, she had been burned so many times before, she hated the fact she was going soft. Kelly spoke up.

"Okay I will, but are you okay?" she asked. "You seem kind of nervous"

Jack glared at her. "Fuck you! What do you know?!" She snapped.

"It's in your body language, you know you can talk to me any time" Kelly said unfazed by her outburst. She then blushed. "Despite what you think of me, I care about you"

Jack was taken aback. She then blushed a little and looked away. "W-whatever, just get me Shepherd"

Kelly smiled. "Ok" she said as her image faded. _'What the hell was that?'_

Minutes later, Shepherd came down to see Jack; she was pacing back and forth. She had fear in her eyes, something he never seen before. "Kelly called, what's going on?"

"Shit, what took you so long?!" she asked. Jack rubbed her hands together nervously, to stop them from shaking. "I got thoughts like little bugs crawling in and out of my head. I can't stop them."

"Whoa, whoa I'll help anyway I can, but you need to calm down" Shepherd said.

"Fuck you! I am calm!" Jack snapped.

Shepherd crossed his arms. "Jack…" Much to her annoyance, Shepherd was one of the few who weren't scared of him, next to Miranda and Grunt. She scoffed and sat on the stairs.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You know I have a history with Cerberus, but do you know how far back it goes?" she asked.

"No, I don't"

"Cerberus raised me, the first thing is my cell door in a Cerberus base" She growled. "They drugged me, tortured me, any kind of childhood I had been fucked up by them, to turn me into a super-biotic"

"Wait, what?" Shepherd asked. "They did this to kids?!"

She snorted. "Yeah, the doctors…the other kids…every one of them hated me. They let me suffer"

"What did they hope to gain in torturing a little girl?" he asked angrily.

"It was about pain breaking down mental barriers, and how it might clear the way for more biotic power." She said. "I'm sure there was a payoff at some point, but I wasn't going to see it. I was wired to a cell."

"You loved the power they gave you"

"They never gave me a choice"

"That's it? They tortured you so they can make a strong biotic?" he asked. "Fucking sadists"

"They thought they were so clever. Turns out, fuck with someone's head enough and you turn a scared little kid into an all-powerful bitch. Fucking idiots" She growled.

"I'm going to talk to TIM, he better have some answers"

"Don't bother, he'll just deny everything" She said. "Besides, that's not what I'm after, anyway"

"You want revenge"

"No, I got my revenge, when I got out; I'm just tying up some loose end." She said. "I found the coordinates in your files. I want to go to the Teltin facility on Pragia, I want to go to the center of the place, my cell. I want to deploy a big fucking bomb, and watch it burn to the ground"

"Alright, I'll set course now" he said walking away.

Jack narrowed her eyes. "Wait, that was too easy, what's your game?"

"No game, you're a member of my crew, and I look out for my own" Shepherd said. "Plus I know, what it's like to lose everything, and wanting payback"

"Huh, you may not be such a pussy, after all" Jack said with a smirk.

"Thanks, I think…"

_Choked by the hyper growth of non-native plant species, Pragia serves as a galactic reminder about the imperative for careful regulation during colonization._

_Two centuries ago, batarian agribusiness chose uninhabited Pragia as their empire's breadbasket. Colonization authorities introduced non-native, industrially-mutated plants that flourished in the world's fertile volcanic soil. Synergizing with Pragia's natural geothermal conditions and chemotropic microbes the imported species soon became a nightmare. Mutant strains of poisonous and even carnivorous plants arose, overgrowing colonies in days instead of years and causing the batarians to abandon their holdings. Because the planet's small animal population is insufficient to check its plant growth, Alliance ecologists predict soil exhaustion in 400 years._

_Due to its relative isolation and lack of population, Pragia has become a regional haven for drug-runners, weapons-smugglers, pirates, mercenaries, terrorists, and intelligence agents seeking secrecy.-Codex_

The shuttle was overlooking the facility as it approached, it was dark and raining, but despite that they could still make out the Cerberus symbol plastered all over the building. Shepherd snorted, for an organization that valued secrecy above all else, they sure loved advertising themselves. Time was not kind to the facility; windows were broken, metal and concrete was worn, and there was overgrowth for as far as the eye could see in which Jack commented that Cerberus built the place to last. "I forgot how much I hate this place" Jack said. Jack had calmed down since coming on board the shuttle but the ex-con was still restless. She then looked in front of her and frowned. EDI cames over the comm and tells the squad that she is detecting multiple thermal signatures from the complex but none near the landing zone.

"Mind telling me why you decided to take the Cerberus cheerleader?" Jack asked angrily.

"I chose her, because she's Cerberus, she would know the data inside and out."

Miranda scoffed and crossed her arms "And someone has to make sure you don't get the Commander killed, given your current mental state" she said.

Jack glowed an intense blue and stood up. "FUCK YOU, BITCH!" However Miranda didn't back down, and glowed a faint blue. Shepherd whistled to get their attention.

"Get a grip, both of you; I don't need you two at each other throats for the whole mission"

Jack sat back down. "Fine, as long as she keeps her fucking mouth shut"

"Just do your job, and I'll be fine"

"Thank you…" Shepherd said shaking his head. The shuttle landed and the team got out and headed around and down into the facility. The room they entered, was full of containers, in the middle was large glass case, probably a deliver area.

"I never saw this room, I think they brought new kids in these containers" Jack said. "They were messed up and starving, but alive usually"

They closer to examine the containers, one of them fell to reveal a skeleton of what used to be a small child "Good god…" Shepherd was horrified, these weren't children to Cerberus, they were things, something to experiment on and then dispose of. Miranda took a step back, her face was the same as Shepherd's horror.

"This is…" Miranda gasped.

Jack scoffed. "Like this is surprising to you, cheerleader, as deep in this shit as you are"

"I know nothing about this!" Miranda said taken aback.

Jack got in her face. "Bullshit!"

"Enough you two" Shepherd warned and the two women quieted down. They went on into the facility. The next room had an active security console that gives some interesting information, it was a recording of a man in a lab coat, Jack growled.

"The Illusive man, requested operation logs again. He's getting suspicious" the recording said. "When we get results, he won't care what we did. But if he knew…"

"This facility went rogue" Miranda said. "The Illusive man, he didn't know"

"He didn't say what they were hiding from the Illusive Man" The next room upon they entered appears to be a large room, like an atrium. "I remember escaping to this room, fighting here. I saw sunlight through the cracks in the ceiling"

"Was it you first glimpse at sunlight?" Shepherd asked. Jack didn't say anything. "I'm sorry…"

"Only a half-dead guard between me and freedom. He was begging for his life" She said pointing to an old blood smear. Miranda looked away, until she heard a creature growling and saw it running for them.

"Varren" she said. Shepherd and Jack came at attention, and blasted them with biotics. One of them lunged at Miranda, but she used her biotics to slam the fishdogs to the ground. Two more came around the corner, Jack threw out a shockwave blowing them back, while Shepherd gunned them down. The battle ended quickly. "At least we know, what those heat signature were, wild varren"

Shepherd looked at the dead varren, something didn't seem right. "Maybe" he then looked at Jack, she was looking at something. "Jack?" Shepherd and Miranda walked up to her. Once they were down, Jack moved to where there is an old bloodstain, surrounding it was several barricades.

"What is this? It looks like an arena" Miranda said.

"That's because, it is" She said. They looked at her. "They used to stage fights here, pit me against other kids" She chuckled a little. "I loved it. Only time I was ever out of my cell"

"How often, would they do this?" Shepherd asked grimly.

"I was in my cell my whole life. Sometimes they took me out and made me fight. Filled me full of drugs, and other stuff" she said. "When I didn't fight, they would beat, shock me until I did"

"What hell was wrong with those people?" Shepherd growled. "Those bastards are no better than the Batarians that attacked Mindoir"

"Don't know, maybe it was how they got they're kicks" she said. "Doesn't matter now, they're all dead"

"Why would they do this? How could do this?" Miranda asked shaking her head. Jack looked at her.

"Aw, what's wrong? The cheerleader doesn't like the skeletons in her precious group's closet" Jack sneered.

Miranda glared at her. "This isn't Cerberus; we stand for something better than this"

The ex-con grabbed Miranda by the collar and looked her in the eye. Shepherd was worried something was going to happen, but then she spoke. "Look at the scars on my body, and tell me to my face, if they're better than this" Jack growled. She pointed to the old cuts on her neck, the marks where she was injected, the burns from the shocks, it was hard to see with all the tattoos she had, but maybe that was the point.

"I…" Miranda looked away.

Jack threw her to the ground and looked at her with disgust. "Fucking hypocrite, you don't believe any more than me or Shepherd, unlike you, we just don't lie to ourselves" she said. "Even your little boy toy, Jacob, don't believe the shit Cerberus puts out" She walked away.

"This can't the same organization, that gave me a home, and helped hide my sister, it can't…" Miranda said lowering her head. Shepherd walked up to her and helped her up. Miranda looked really shaken and Shepherd sighed.

"Then it's time for you to open your eyes and see Cerberus for what it is" Shepherd said. "Ask yourself this, if they're capable of this, then what else are they capable of?" he said.

He walks to Jack, leaving Miranda with her thoughts.


	50. Chapter 42: Subject Zero pt2

**Chapter 42: Subject Zero pt.2**

As they made their way through the base, they went into the next hallway and saw a security console, Shepherd activated. The hologram showed a man in armor, possible a security guard, he looked panicked. They could hear fires, screaming, things crashing down as he was frantically talking. "Security Officer Zemkl, Teltin facility. The subjects are out of their cells! They're tearing the place apart" he said. "Subject Zero is going to get loose. I need permission to terminate…I repeat, permission to terminate, all subjects beside Zero are expendable, keep Jack alive" Jack frowned. "Understood. I'll begin the…"

She blasted the terminal with a shockwave, growling. "That's not right. I broke out when my guards disappeared…I started that riot"

"Things might have happened that you didn't see" Shepherd said.

"The other kids attacked me. The guards attacked me. The automated systems attacked me" Jack said. "That doesn't leave a lot of room for interpretation"

"I suppose, come on, maybe we can find out more" Shepherd opened the door and moved down the stairs. At the bottom was a dead varren, Jack went down and examined the corpse, it was a fresh kill and not only that the varren had bullet holes in it.

"We're not alone here"

"Keep your eyes and ears open people, expect ambushes" Shepherd said. Jack and Miranda nodded.

After getting down the stairs and entering the next room, they were suddenly under attack by vorcha and krogan, the red on their armor was undeniable, blood pack. Two vorcha heavy came out of cover and fired their rockets at the team. The squad went into cover, Jack pulled the heavies off the ledges and Miranda smashed them to the ground with her slam.

"What's the hell is Blood Pack doing here?" Miranda asked shooting more vorcha.

"Don't know, don't care, they're in the way" he said. Shepherd threw a warp field the approaching krogan, stunning him and weakening his armor. Jack blasted the krogan and anyone in the way with a Shockwave.

"Pyro left side" Miranda said.

"I got this" Shepherd said taking control of the pyro. The pyro blasted his allies with his flamethrower, until he was killed by his own people. Another pyro came and took the first one's place and flanked Shepherd and Jack as he fired on them. Jack and Shepherd pulled up their barriers to protect them from the flames, however while they were dealing with that the troopers fired on them. Miranda overloaded the canister near the troopers causing them to be pushed back and then overloaded the tank on the pyro's back, causing him to explode. Once the pressure was taken of the spectre and ex-con, they proceeded to finish off the first wave. When they fell, the windows to their left shattered as three more vorcha attack. They switched cover.

"Jack pull them out of there" he ordered. Jack pulled the vorcha out of the windows and Miranda slammed him to the ground with a sickening crack. Shepherd froze the rest and shattered them against the wall with a throw and the battle was over. "Nice job, you two, you guys work together quite well, now if only you could get along"

Jack scoffed. "Like hell…"

Miranda crossed her arms. "Likewise"

Shepherd sighed and shook his head. He looked around the room; this room was strong with death more so than any other place they've been to in the facility. "Where are we?"

"Looks like the morgue" Miranda said. She pointed to the cover they just used. "See, those metal beds are the same ones coroners used when examining dead bodies"

Jack looked at them at them confused, it was yet another place she didn't know about, it was so strange this had been her whole world when she was a kid, she thought she had seen everything that this place had. She shook her head. "Why would they need a morgue? This was a small facility" she said

"A lot kids died Jack, even then they must have been a part of the experiments" Shepherd sadly.

"Bullshit, I had the worst of it and I made it out alive" Jack growled.

"You sure?"

"I…" She hesitated. "Yes, I'm sure"

"Then let's go deeper, then" Shepherd said. They headed to the other end of the room, to the right. As they walked, Shepherd noticed Jack's face. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Really Shepherd?"

"Hey, I'm old fashion like that"

Jack chuckled a little and then sighed. "So strange being back here" she said. "I feel like…I'm pissed off. I'm dangerous bitch, but I'm that scared little girl again"

"What do you you'll do after this place is rubble?" Shepherd asked.

"I…I don't know…this place had been part of my nightmares for so long…" She said.

"I know what you mean…Mindoir had taken me a long time to get over also" he said. "But I learned a long time ago, that good friends help a lot"

"Friends huh? Nice sentiment, until they stab you in the back" she said sadly.

"Well, I consider you a friend" he said.

Jack scoffed. "Well aren't you the perfect Boy Scout, but I'm not exactly friend material" she said. "Trust me, as soon as this mission's over you'll want nothing to do with me, I'm crazy, crazy tends to be a deal breaker"

"Jack, we have a krogan berserker, a knight Templar, an assassin, an amoral bounty hunter, two terrorists, and a mad scientist on board not to mention I got some screws loose too for even doing this mission. Crazy is pretty much a requirement for this crew and yet I consider them friends as I do you" Shepherd said with a smirk. "We all do, even Miranda"

"God, you're a pussy, but I guess I can do worse" Jack said with a smirk. "And I will admit, the crew is alright, even the cheerleader is…tolerable"

"Heh may be hope for you yet." They moved down the hall. As they move down further along, they stopped. The living quarters were horrid, the spaces were cramped enough for one person and yet the kids were expected to share the space. The beds were hard, they didn't even bother to give them sheets or pillows. They examined the room closely and saw devices on the quarters, energy fields to prevent escape.

"The kids slept here?" Miranda asked sadly.

"Yeah, the hall would be full of moaning or screaming kids from the pain they went through." Jack said. "Sometimes, when the guards were bored, they would just come in and just beat them, other times…let's just say there weren't many virgins left by the end"

"What?!" Shepherd asked shocked.

"Lost my virginity at ten, to this day I can still feel every blow, every touch…" Jack shuddered. "When I cried or screamed, they hit me harder, after a while you just don't care, you become numb"

"Bastards…" Shepherd growled through clenched teeth.

"It doesn't matter, not anymore…" she said. The next room they entered was an open room; the only thing in there was a dirty chair and a terminal. "I must have come through here when I broke out, but I don't remember."

Shepherd approached the terminal. "Think this can tell us anything?" He pressed the button and an image of an older man appeared.

"Entry1054, Teltin facility. The latest iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subject one, four, and six died. No biotic change among the survivors" the recording said. "We lowered core temperatures of surviving, but no biotically beneficial reactions occurred. As a side effect, all subjects died." The man shook his head. "So we'll not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic potential-potential subjects holds up. We are going through them fast"

"This is bullshit! They weren't experimenting on the other kids for my safety" Jack growled.

"You can't help want they did to others" Shepherd said sadly.

"You don't get it, Shepherd. I survived this place because I was tougher than the rest. That who I am"

"Then you move on, harder and tougher, I won't expect or accept anything less" he said firmly.

Jack nodded. "Right" Miranda spoke up.

"Wait, there seem to be more" The image changed, it was the same man, but this time he was a lot more scared. Looked like Karma finally caught up with him.

"It's all fallen to pieces. The subjects are rampaging, and Zero is loose. We're shutting down Teltin, what a disaster." He said. "We'll infiltrate and piggyback on to the Alliance's Ascension program. Hopefully that will…" a crash in the background could be heard. "…who are…? Zero, wait" the image faded.

"No… no…" Jack said in horror. "They started someone else"

"Ascension is an Alliance program. It's a school for biotic kids" Miranda said. "As far as I know they don't torture kids"

"She's right, Jack, Kaiden and me trained in a program, sponsored by Ascension" Shepherd said.

"Right…right" she said calming down. "This isn't the way I remember it"

"There was a lot going on" Shepherd said.

"I was dumb. I keep my eye open now, and I always shoot first" she said. "We're getting close to my cell. The place I came from. Let's keep going" They opened the door to the next room; Krogan and vorcha were waiting for them. A krogan in deep red armor was speaking to someone.

"Hey Aresh, its Kureck. Yeah, the intruders are here. You want them dead, we have to talk creds" he said. "You promised us lots of salvage, but this place is a waste, fine…we'll put'em down. Then I'm coming in there, and we're going to talk salvage"

"What are you doing here?!" Jack asked angrily.

The krogan smirked. "First we're going to kill, then you'll see"

"Just try it, shithead!" Jack said charging the krogan.

"Jack wait!" The vorcha and krogan started firing at them, Shepherd and Miranda got to cover. "Damn it, Miranda!" She nodded and slammed the closest Krogan against the floor. Shepherd took control of the vorcha pyro, and the vorcha attacked the krogan. Miranda took aim at the pyro's fuel tank and overloaded it. The explosion made the krogan fell back. Shepherd finished them with a blast from his Arch Projector. They then went to help, Jack.

"Jac…" Miranda started. They saw Jack breathing heavily looking down, at the headless very bloody corpse of Kureck.

"What the fuck took you so long?" She asked.

"You alright?"

"I'll be fine when I plant this bomb on Aresh's corpse" She growled. She turned and fixed her gaze on her old room, moving towards it purposefully. Her room was more spacious than he expected, but spartan. A single desk, a bed, and an overturned table all coated in a fine layer of dust and grime. And there, in the middle of the room, was a man, he was not them most well-dressed in fact he look like a beggar from the Citadel. But there was no denying who he was, Aresh. He just looked out the window blankly, like the world didn't matter to him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Jack asked glowing blue.

Aresh looked back at them, more specifically Jack. "I should be asking you that, you're breaking into my home" he said. "Welcome back, Subject Zero"

"MY NAME IS JACK!"

"So many years have passed, and I thought I was the only survivor"

Jack raised his gun. "How the hell do you know me?"

"We all knew your face, Jack. They inflicted horrors on us for you, their precious guinea pig" he said. "You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer"

"Looks like you're not the only one pulled back here, Jack" Shepherd said.

"I tried to forget this, but this place….it doesn't forget you. It follows you" Aresh said. "I hired these mercs and came back almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece"

"What...?"

"I'm going to find out what they knew…how to unlock true biotic potential in humans. I'm restarting the Teltin facility."

"You would do to other kids that they did to you?" Miranda asked outraged.

Aresh looked at Miranda and frowned. "What do you care, Cerberus? Isn't this what you people want?" Aresh said. Miranda looked away.

"Not like this…" Miranda said.

"It will be beautiful…" he said in awe.

"You're nuts! Wasn't this forced on you?!" Shepherd asked.

"Some were bought from poor families on Earth or kidnapped from colonies. Most ended up here the way I did: batarian pirates" he said. "They did such horrible things to us. They must have had good reasons"

"There's no reason good enough! You fucking lived it!" Jack said with her gun shaking in her hand. "No…not again…NEVER AGAIN!" Jack hit him with a biotic field that had him on his knees. At that point Jack aims the pistol at his head, her eyes full of hatred.

"Jack wait! You don't have to do this!" Shepherd said.

"I can't….I can't let him do this" Jack said shakily.

"Jack, look at me, he's trapped in the past. You need to move on for yours"

"He wants to restart this place…He needs to die!" she said.

"Let it go! You don't have to let the past control you!" he said. Her hand shook as she pulled the trigger. "JACK!" She fired a few rounds, but they all missed Aresh. Jack was breathing heavily and closed her eyes. When her breathing slowed, she put away her gun and looked down at Aresh.

"Get out of here, now…" She said. Aresh quickly ran out of the room. "You should have let me kill him…"

"You did the right thing"

"Maybe" Jack said. She then looks around her old room. "This room was my whole childhood. Give me a minute to look around."

"Take your time, Miranda and I will set up the bomb" He said walking away.

The window, bed, desk, and a bloodstain on the wall outside the cell, all had memories for her. The bloodstains were the first time she ever killed a man, amusingly enough it was the same man who molested her when she was ten, karma truly was a bitch that day. The window was her only window to the world, no matter how loud and hard she would scream, but no one listened. The bed was where she used to pretend she was shackled, like when she was during the experiment. She scoffed in contempt; she was so weak back then. She looked at the desk, her desk was her best friend, sometimes when she couldn't sleep she crawl underneath and cry her eyes out, pretend that the table was the mother or father she never had.

"Jack you ready?" Shepherd asked. She nodded and they left the building. On the shuttle back to the Normandy Jack fumbles with the trigger for the bomb. She flips the cap on the detonator switch up and down several times, and when Shepard nods in approval she presses the button. Shepard slams a fist on the cockpit door several times to warn the pilot of the coming shockwave, and the bomb goes off. The shuttle is rocked by the explosion but continues on, uninterrupted, to the Normandy.

Back on the Normandy, she went to her room, as she was tired. When she got to her room, she saw Kelly there doing stuff to her bed. Jack frowned. "What fuck are you doing?"

Kelly jumped. "Oh I sorry, it was meant as a surprise"

Jack narrowed her eyes. "What surprise?" Kelly moved out the way and revealed a mattress on her cot, with sheets and a pillow all black. On the bed was the vest Kelly gave her when they first met. "Let me guess, Shepherd?"

The red-head shook her head. "I wanted to make your room comfortable, you know when you come back" Kelly said blushing. "You know how cold and dark it can be down here"

Jack sighed. "But I like…"

"I know, but I wanted to, I told you, despite what you think me, I care for you" she said.

Jack groaned and rubbed her head. "Son of a…" she said.

"I'll just be out of your way, I'm going to go to bed" Kelly said. Jack grabbed her arm and looked her in the eye, blushing.

"Wait, I'm not good with this, but thanks" she said sheepishly. Kelly smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Anytime" She said softly. She walked back to her quarters. Jack lay on her cot with a soft padding, staring at the ceiling; a small smile appeared on her face.


	51. Chapter 43: Rage

**Chapter 43: Rage**

Rage…it's a hell of an emotion; it makes you sloppy, it leads you astray, and it makes you weak, at least that's what ordinary people say. For one man however, it's a cherished ally, closer than family, it saved his life more time than he could count. How did this man get here? Well listen to the story and find out…

_**Shanxi-twenty years ago**_

_It all started during the First Contact War, the turians were bombing everything to hell, this happened for a days, then months, then a year. During that time, everything was dying left and right due to the turians being in a superior position, able to kill any human soldiers from above, the Shanxi defenders began to starve, unable to get food or supplies without risking civilian lives._ _Eventually General Williams was forced to surrender the Shanxi garrison. It was here that a young Alliance soldier named Zaeed Massani became disillusioned with the military._

"_Fuck, I can't believe this is really happening…this is bull!" Zaeed said. _

"_And do what Massani? As long as those birds are up there, we've got no chance" one man said. The door opened to reveal a dark-skinned clean-shaven man, his face had absolute disgust on his face. "Santiago?"Vido Santiago, back then Zaeed and Vido were the best of friends, closer than brothers since they were kids, they were born on Shanxi, went to the same school, shared the birthday, and enlisted at the same time to the same squad. It was simple back then._

"_It's done, General Williams just signed the paperwork, Shanxi is under Turian control" Vido said spitting at the ground. "The fucking coward wants to meet him in the conference room so we can play nice with our new masters" The looks on the men's face, was disheartening to say the least as they each got up went out of the room, leaving Zaeed and Vido. "Can you believe this man?"_

"_Where's the Alliance? They wouldn't leave us like this"_

"_They abandoned us, so they could safeguard Elysium and Eden Prime" Eventually one month later, Admiral Kastanie Drescher led the Second Fleet against Shanxi, catching the turians by surprise and evicting them from the planet. But by then the damage was done, with their faith in the Alliance, Zaeed and Vido resigned from the military. However, they didn't know what to do next, as the Alliance pretty much took care of their needs._

_It was then Zaeed had an idea, they would create a private security organization, calling themselves the Blue Suns, operating out of the Skyllian Verge. Their first mission was to deal with assassination attempt on an official from earth, apparently piss of the wrong person, the Shadow Broker. The mission was a success and soon, the blue sun started to grow, mostly kids from the slums on Earth and Omega went to join because they had nowhere else to go. The structure was simple, Zaeed led the teams due to being the better fighter and Vido deal with the books and for a time it worked up until Vido wanted more say._

_**Omega-three years later**_

"_You want to recruit turians, after what they did to us?!" Zaeed asked outraged._

"_Be reasonable, Zaeed we can't keep recruiting these punk kids" Vido said. "The last mission was sixth time, you came back with your team dead, no one is going to hire us with that kind of record" Zaeed crossed his arms._

"_All the brats need is more training…"_

"_Why train them when we get us professional? You said it yourself that you wanted the Blue Suns to be group of professionals" Zaeed snorted, but he knew Vido was right, and eventually he agreed to letting to letting the Turians join, it worked out better than they thought. The turians came in and whipped the squad into shape, in no time the fatality rate for missions went down dramatically and soon they were raking in the money which drew the ire of the two older merc groups Eclipse and Blood Pack. With the stakes raised, Vido went into secret talks for more help against their new rivals._ _Arguments soon ensued when Vido wanted to hire batarian mercenaries, citing the cheap labor opportunities; Zaeed strongly disagreed with this policy._

_**Ardek-two months later**_

_Vido came to Batarian space for extra help; though getting them to join was not going to be easy, batarians and humans had a long standing feud over the batarian's slave policy. However Vido know what mean sons of bitches they were in fight, but they were also deceitful bastards also but then again so was Vido, he brought a good portion of his men with him. They were meeting a man named Solem Dal'serah, a vicious bastard even among his own people, he had the biggest bounty in Council space due to dropping asteroids on a council world for their 'treatment' of his people. A batarian in black armor came out along with his men, their guns also ready; Vido's men also raised their guns._

"_Human this is a batarian planet, you've got to the count of three to get out of here, that's more than most get" Solem said. "One, two…"_

"_I came here to make a deal, Solem" Vido said._

"_And what makes you think I want to listen to anything you have to say?"_

"_I have something you want, power" Solem looked at his men. "I'll make this brief; I'm from an up in coming merc group, the blue suns, I want you to join us"_

_Solem snorted. "Why would I want to join a human and turian group?"_

"_I can make you leader of the Blue Suns"_

_Solem narrowed his eyes. "You have a leader already, that Massani guy…. unless you're planning on getting rid of him…" _

"_I am, Zaeed is a good fighter, but he's too rigid in his honor to make the Blue Suns grow" Vido said. "The Blood Pack and Eclipse are stronger and more ruthless, we need an edge on them, you're it" Solem looked him, not really sure if he could trust the human._

"_I find it surprising; you don't want the leadership position…" In truth Vido wanted the leadership, but had to play this safe, if this strategy worked, it would both strengthen public relations with the batarians and ensured his own safety. And if Zaeed and Solem happen to kill each other, it would be a plus for him._

"_My job is to balance the books, but that doesn't mean I can't look out of the suns best interests" A shake of the hand and the batarians were on board, the only thing that was left was to deal with an old friend._

_**Omega-Week later **_

"_Vido…damn you…" Zaeed growled. Zaeed was surrounded by his men, all pointing guns at him. Hours before the standoff, Zaeed was hunted throughout the slums of Omega, at first he thought it just some random batarian punks trying to prove he's a tough guy to some asari hooker he was trying to impress but the attack was too organized to be coincidence. The first batarian he killed, was one in black armor perched on the balcony of Afterlife. Since then more batarian aimed for his head, they were well-trained, but so was he. Zaeed picked off his assailants one by one, if it was one thing he could thank the Alliance for it was his training. He used what limited space he had to his advantage, while the batarians fought like they in a military operation, Zaeed used guerrilla tactics something he picked up on Shanxi. He was almost there, if he could get his men assistance, he could take them out unfortunately when he got there they weren't his men anymore._

"_It's nothing personal, Zaeed, it's just business" Vido said._

"_Damn you Vido, we like brothers…" Vido said nothing as six of his men held him down. "Didn't that mean anything?!" Zaeed was then staring at the barrel of the shotgun in Vido hand, he had got his answer. He pulled the trigger and Zaeed lied in a pool of his own blood._

"_Where's Solem?" Vido asked._

"_He was killed by Zaeed first" one of his men said._

_Vido scoffed. "So much for the number one criminal, and the batarians?"_

"_Awaiting your command…" Vido smirked and walked away._

"_What about Zaeed?"_

_Vido looked back at his former friend, on the ground. "What about him? Leave him, I'm sure the vorcha are hungry" He and his men walked away._

_**Now**_

Zaeed was staring out the window as the Shuttle was flying to Zorya. Today was twenty-three year anniversary of that day, and now it was time to pay his 'old friend' a visit. Vido has done very well for himself since taking control of the Blue suns, over the next decade the Suns grew into a fearsome combat force spanning dozens of systems. But they were a shell of their former selves, instead of a professional security force that he wanted; they were nothing more than simple thugs. Taking slave labor on Zorya was just the latest proof of how much the Suns have fallen. The shuttle landed on the planet and Zaeed was the first one out, it was time for his revenge.


	52. Chapter 44: Price of Revenge

**Chapter 44: Price of Revenge **

_"Bring firearms and antihistamines" is what veteran guides say about this lush garden world. First colonized in 2160, Zorya's temperate and tropical zones are overrun with plants and fungi of all kinds. As a result, the air in most habitable areas is choked with pollen and spores that range from benign to deadly. The scattered colonies across the planet have resorted to clear-cutting and slash-and-burn farming to create habitable zones, and the more rural areas, where the spores are thickest are populated only by vorcha. Lax ecological laws allow mining and manufacturing industries to flourish and pollute cheaply, as the planet's carrying capacity far outstrips the current size of its colonies._

_Zorya is also home to the Blue Suns mercenary company who dominate the colonies' security forces. The Suns enjoy nearly unlimited influence with local politicians and judges, ensuring no other private military contractors can compete with them economically. Nearly every colony has a Suns recruiting station, if not a training camp, though this has hardly made the planet any safer. Piracy, drugs and vice, and political violence are commonplace.-Codex_

Shepherd and Garrus came out of the Shuttle, the spectre wiped his forehead, Zorya was hot but also beautiful it looked like the rainforests of Earth that he read about in books. "Zorya is a pleasant enough place." Shepherd said.

Garrus snorted. "Yeah, if you like the pirates, the drug lords and the constant civil war" Shepherd looked at him.

"Why would a company make a business here, then?"

"From what I heard, The Eldfell-Ashland Energy Company is in bed with the ruling party on this planet" he said. "Because of the money that the company puts into the planet, Zorya protect the company when regulators and investigators get a bit too curious for their own good."

"Oh great, A Noveria-lite" Zaeed approached the two men, after scouting the area.

"If you girls are finished, I've tapped the comm of the Blue suns" he said.

"Alright, stay tight and look for ambushes" Shepherd ordered. They headed down the path, as they walked, they did not encounter any enemies for some time. Then they heard some com chatter.

"Squad Bravo, a shuttle landed near your location. Check it out"

"So much for the element of surprise…" Garrus said.

"We'll just kill them when we come across them" Zaeed said. They came across a pile of dead bodies in their way. "Shot in the head and left to rot, definitely Vido's style"

"Who?"

"That man you heard on the radio that was Vido"

"I take it you and him have a history" Shepherd said.

"More than I would like…" he said bitterly. "Let's push ahead" They made their way to the refinery, as they got closer, they heard more chatter.

"Command to Bravo. Take a position, likely these aren't runaways."

"We better be careful, boss, they'll be expecting us" Garrus said.

Shepherd nodded. "Right, then let's give them a show, Garrus, Zaeed hide in the trees, when the fighting starts, unload on them." Zaeed and Garrus nodded and got into position. Shepherd dashed to the first cover he could find. He peeked around crate and saw the mercs standing around they didn't notice him, perfect for a pre-emptive strike. Shepherd raised his arm and summoned a singularity field, his target were the two mercs on the ledges, they floated helplessly and then was shut down by a warp field causing them to fall to their deaths. That caught the other's attention as they started to fire.

"Report to base! Armed intruders incoming at the southern checkpoint!" One of them said just before being crushed by a concussive shot. Shepherd took the time to take control of the mercs with heavy weapons. The controlled merc decimated her former allies and gotten gunned down by them as a result.

"Reinforcements incoming, we got your backs" the comm said. When all the initial enemies fall, Shepherd moved up and found some more cover.

"Incoming Shepherd" Zaeed said. To his side, the reinforcements came in; they included two Blue Suns Pyros, three FENRIS Mechs, two Blue Suns Troopers, and a Blue Suns Heavy. Shepherd took control of the two pyros, as Garrus and Zaeed took care of the mechs.

"We're getting torn to shreds out here" one of them said. When the Heavy died, Shepherd overloads one of the pyro's tanks, taking down everyone in the radius.

"All squads fall back!"

"Meet me at the bridge, Shepherd" Zaeed said.

"Got it"

Shepherd and Garrus met up with Zaeed, working on the bridge controls, though he was getting frustrated by the controls. "Bloody antique junk!" he said. He slammed the controls and the the machine finally hummed to life. "Finally…What took you?"

"Enjoying the sights and sounds" Garrus said sarcastically.

"Smartass…" Zaeed muttered.

"Anything we need to talk about? 'Cause to be grumpy …well grumpier than usual" Shepherd said. The com broke through, and a rough voice came through.

"This is Commander Santiago, if any of you retreat while the intruders are still alive, I'll kill you myself!" he growled. "Now, get the hell back out there!"

"Hmm, charming guy" Garrus said.

"Sounds like he hasn't changed" Zaeed said.

"Okay, out with it, what's the deal between you two?" Shepherd asked.

"I once considered that sadistic bastard, my best friend, I should have seen it, especially after we started the Blue Suns" he growled.

Shepherd and Garrus blinked. "You started the Blue Suns?" Garrus asked in disbelief.

Zaeed snorted. "Yeah, and they only got meaner after his coup twenty years ago."

"Why didn't anyone tell me you founded the Blue Suns?" Shepherd asked.

"'Cause it wasn't public knowledge, Vido wiped me from the records" Zaeed said. "He ran the books and I ran the men. Worked for a while, until Vido had gotten ideas into his head. Started hiring Batarians behind my back, when I found out we came to blows. Cheaper labor, he said. Goddamn terrorists, I said."

"Twenty years is a long time to hold a grudge" Garrus said. Shepherd palmed his face. Zaeed glared at him and grabbed him by the collar. He pulled him close and looked at the turian hard.

"A grudge?!" Zaeed growled. "Vido turned my men against me. He paid six of them to restrain while he put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger!"

"Zaeed, stand down!" Shepherd ordered. The older man threw Garrus to the ground.

"For twenty years, I've seen that bastard every time I closed my eyes, every time I sighed down a target, every time I heard a gunshot!" He said. "Don't you call it a goddamned grudge!"

Garrus rubbed his neck. "Noted"

"You survived a gunshot to the head?" Shepherd asked.

"Yeah and you survived being spaced. A stubborn enough person can survive just about anything. He said. "Rage is a hell of an anesthetic" The bridge finished extending, the com broke through.

"They're at the southern access. All squads mass at the gatehouse! Now!"

"They know we're here" Shepherd said.

Zaeed gave a cruel smirk. "Good" He said. "Bring it on, you son of a bitch" He ran to the gate.

Shepherd looked at Garrus, as he got off the ground. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just a bruised ego" Garrus said. "Zaeed's….intense" The com broke through.

"Squads Charlie, Delta. Mass on the gatehouse"

Shepherd frowned. "That's what I'm worried about…" he said. "Let's catch up to him" Garrus nodded. The two caught up with Zaeed, who was standing at the gate attempting to open it. "Wait Zaeed, maybe we should think about this"

"No more thinking, Vido dies today." The older man opened the gate, and the team was surrounded by mercs, aimed for them. The team looked up; in the middle was a middle-aged man with graying hair, and a five'o clock shadow. He gave the team a smug smirk, Zaeed's eyes narrowed dangerously at the man.

"Long time no see, Massani, so you finally tracked me down" Vido said. "How long has it been? Twenty-three years? You look like shit"

"Vido!" He growled getting his gun out.

"Don't be stupid, Zaeed. I have a whole company of bloodthirsty bastards behind me, ready to be killed on my command" he said. Zaeed gazed at the gas pipe near them. "Actually, take your shot; it would be a pleasure to see my men put you down like a mad dog, again"

Zaeed stars into firing as he goes for cover. His rounds hit a metal pipe near Vido. "What was that? Gone nearsighted, old friend?" he asks tauntingly.

"Burn, you son of a bitch!" Zaeed growled as he fired his gun. As it turns out, the pipe was full of explosive gas; the pipe explodes, injuring Vido and killing some of his men.

"You just signed your death warrant, Massani!" He growled. Vido ran away, as his men open fired on them. Shepherd and Garrus got into cover, but Zaeed kept banging on a metal valve.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shepherd asked. Zaeed then breaks a valve setting off a chain reaction that starts to destroy the whole refinery. The blast kills more of Vido's men, and the door blasts open.

"Opening the gate" Zaeed simply said.

"We're here to save these people. Why the hell would you blow up the refinery?" he asked.

"I came here to kill Santiago. You want my help on your mission; you better make damn sure that man dies today" Shepherd punched him hard and Zaeed rubbed his face glaring at the spectre. Shepherd glared back at him.

"You're endangering lives…and the mission for your selfish revenge" Shepherd growled.

"You really want to do this, Shepherd?"

"Stick to the mission, Zaeed, or we're going to have a problem" he warned.

"I think maybe we already do. I want Vido dead! Whatever the cost!" Zaeed said walking away.

"This is going to be a problem, Shepherd" Garrus said.

Shepherd frowned. "I know I may have to erase that problem" They ran to catch up to Zaeed, watching their step from all the explosions that the old vet caused. It was a disaster, the mission went from liberating the workers from the blue suns to now to now rescuing the workers and the refinery. And it didn't help that Zaeed was now a loose cannon, if the vet got any more out of hand, Shepherd would have to kill him, something Garrus disagreed with,

"Whoa, you sure about this boss?" Garrus asked in disbelief.

Shepherd frowned. "Yeah, I am, I don't like it more than you do" he said.

"But, killing one of our own…"

"You've seen him, he puts innocents in danger" Shepherd said. "How we trust him to watch our backs when we fight the collectors"

"Can't you just talk to him? It worked with Wrex" Garrus said.

"That's the thing, I don't think I can reason with him, his only thought is revenge and he consider us as expendable to that end"

Garrus sighed. "Okay, you know I'm with you no matter what, but maybe we can do it as a last resort"

"Alright, last resort only" Shepherd said. "But if he can't be reasoned, then I'm pulling the trigger" They caught up with Zaeed. As he opened the door, they heard a man yelling on the rails up top.

"Help, we're trapped!" he yelled in panic. "We can't get to the gas valves to shut them off! The whole place is going to blow!" The room he came from exploded and large jagged debris hit him in the chest, killing him instantly. More explosions could be heard throughout the refinery.

"Boss, we got to do something, we can't just leave these people like this" Garrus said.

Shepherd nodded. "Agreed, let's go"

"No time, Vido's probably halfway to the shuttle docks by now." Zaeed said. Shepherd glared at him.

"You willing to watch these people die?!" Shepherd asked angrily.

"Damn right I am. We go to help these people, Vido will get away." Zaeed growled. "He gets away and I'm blaming you." Shepherd grabbed his neck and lifted him of the ground. Zaeed eyes grew wide in surprise, he didn't expect the spectre to be so strong.

"We're here to free these people, not to satisfy your fucking revenge, you're under my command" Shepherd growled as squeezed his neck tighter. "And you will follow my orders, do you fucking understand?!" He threw him to the ground, he got off the floor growling, but didn't object.

"Crystal…" Zaeed muttered rubbing his neck.

"Let's go" Shepherd said. Garrus nodded. The two jumped down and went into the refinery.

Zaeed scoffed and looked at the path he was going to take. "I knew this was a mistake…" He jumped down and joined them. Once inside they headed up the stairs and opened the next door. The room was a shower of flames, it was hard to breathe from the smoke, and Shepherd ordered everyone to put on their breather masks. The smoke made it hard to see, but he could vaguely see some people in the next room, a safe room for when something happened to the refinery.

"Boss, we've got a transmission."

"Open it" It is a woman's voice.

"Hello, whoever has this message, pleases help, we're locked in the safe room, but we won't survive for long" she said in distress. "There a control panels along the way that controls the extinguisher, and the door won't open until the fires out, please help…"

"Looks like we know what to do now"

Shepherd nodded. "Let's find those control panels"

Luckily for the team the first panel was right near them. Shepherd press the button. They moved to the second panel, as they moved through the burning factory. Another explosion happened underneath the walkway, which almost made Garrus fall; Shepherd grabbed his arm and pulled him up while Zaeed activated the second panel.

"Upstairs! The system is upstairs, hurry" one of the employees said weakly. The smoke was starting fill up the room, the people went low to avoid the smoke, but if few minutes it would not matter.

"Shit, those people aren't going to last for long." Garrus said. The third was next to the catwalk. They rushed upstairs

"Go, go!" Shepherd said. As they got close to the catwalk, an explosion drops a flaming pipe on the floor in front of them. "Damn!" Shepherd looked for another path to the other side. "There's a path to the right" They then heard an explosion and felt rumblings, the cat walk behind them was falling. They ran to the other side before it could collapse, they jumped as the last platform gave way and dropped. Garrus pressed the controls and the sprinkler systems extinguished the flames, and fans blew away the smoke. The door opened and they walked into the next room, they saw the employees running out of the safe room.

"Good they're safe" Garrus said relived.

"Finally…" Zaeed said as he ran passed them.

Shepherd and Garrus caught up with him. They reached the refinery core, a transmission broke through."First person to bring me Massani's head gets something special in their paycheck" Vido said.

"He's stalling us…" Garrus said.

"Then we'll have to kill them faster" Shepherd said. A merc came from their left with a flamethrower in hand. Garrus overloaded the pyro's fuel tanks. Blue sun mercs flooded the room. Shepherd took control of the heavy weapon users, while Zaeed picked them off with sniper fire.

"You brought Shepherd with you and you still don't have a chance!" he said tauntingly.

"Just you wait, you son of a bitch…" Zaeed growled. Eventually the heavy fighting caused one of the big fuel tank came loose, with a huge stream of fire spewing forth. The machinery moved, and anyone in the way, were burned to a crisp.

"Everyone watch out for the fire" Shepherd said. The com roared with laughter.

"I took your Blue Suns, I took your life, and now I'm taking it again" he said. Shepherd shot at the fuel tank, making it fall and explode killing more of the blue suns.

"VIDO!" Zaeed roared.

"Zaeed, get a grip!"

"If you take a knee now, Zaeed, I'll maybe forget this ever happened." Vido said. Something big came their way.

"Watch it! Heavy mech up ahead" Garrus said.

"Never should have come here, Zaeed. Did you forget who you were dealing with?"

"Damn! I wish Rookie was here" Shepherd muttered. Shepherd then looked at the second flaming tank . "Garrus, on top, hit that fuel tank"

Garrus looked up and gave a smirk. "Got it boss" Garrus shot a couple of rounds into the tank, until it fell and dropped on the YMIR mech and the mercs surrounding it. Blue Suns Troopers and Pyros come out from two side rooms just ahead of the squad and rushed them. Shepherd took out his Blackstorm Projector, causing a black hole and then more explosions. The com broke.

"Let that loser die, Shepherd! You can walk out of here alive!" Vido said. He was getting desperate. The battle was soon over, and Zaeed rushed to get Vido.

"You're mine Vido!"

"Let's get catch up to the idiot, before he does something stupid" Shepherd said.

"Got it" They went with Zaeed. Vido is caught limping towards the shuttle, when Zaeed fires a shot and gets his attention. His eyes went wide with fear, as he backed up trying to talk his way out predicament.

"Zaeed, please, you know it was nothing personal. Just business I swear" Vido said in fear.

Zaeed shot him in the leg and Vido collapsed on the ground howling in pain. "Shut the fuck up!" Zaeed growled. He walked up to him and stomped on the man's wounded leg. Vido yelled in pain. But the vet wasn't done yet, shot his other leg, as he stomped on the other, he was going to make Vido suffer for what he did.

"It was twenty-three years ago! Look at you. I did you a favor" he said. "Zaeed, please! I'm going to die, do something, for an old friend" Zaeed stops, Vido thought he was in the clear, until Zaeed opened his mouth.

"Fry, you son of a bitch" Zaeed said. Zaeed ejects a thermal clip from his pistol into a pool of fuel that Vido is lying in. His old friend's eyes wide hen the clip touched the fuel, erupting into flames. Zaeed turns and walks away as his screams filling the air, by the time Shepherd and Garrus got there, all that was left of Vido was his charred remains.

"Happy?" Shepherd asked. Zaeed nodded. "Good, I want you off my ship" Shepherd and Garrus walked away.

Zaeed blinked. "What? What about the mission?" he asked. Shepherd glared at him.

"Oh now you caredabout the mission? We could have finished this mission a long time ago, but you had to complicate things" Shepherd said angrily. "I don't need a man who's going leave his teammates, on a whim"

Zaeed scoffed. "If you didn't need me, Cerberus wouldn't have paid my fee. I'll do what I was goddamned paid to do. Nothing more, nothing less" he said.

"Not good enough, you put your revenge ahead of the mission. That's not how things works here" Garrus said.

"I survived this long watching my back. No time to worry about anyone else"

"And that's why, you were so easy to betray" Shepherd said. Zaeed glared at him.

"What?!"

"You only fought for yourself, and in return you had no one to turn to" he said. "Those that don't get loyalty is because they don't deserve it and you don't deserve it"

Zaeed gave a thoughtful look. "Maybe…"

"You're part of a team, Zaeed, and on this mission, we have to work together, if we're going to live" Shepherd said. "I can't trust you if go loose cannon on us"

"You…you have a point" Zaeed said.

"Good, because let me warn you, if you ever do what you did today again, I will kill you myself" Shepherd said coldly. "And there won't be enough rage in the galaxy to help you with the pain"

Zaeed was taken aback. "R-right"

Shepherd then smirked and his voice lost its icy edge. "Good, now let's get back to the Normandy, I'm starving" The shuttle appeared before them. The squad then boards the shuttle to head back to the Normandy. Zaeed looks out the shuttle window then at Shepherd. The shuttle then takes off and heads back.

_Eldfell-Ashland refinery on Zorya has been liberated, though the company will have to spend millions to rebuild. With Vido Santiago dead, Zaeed has accepted Shepherd's command and is focused on the mission.-Mission Summary_


	53. Chapter 45: Ardat-Yakshi

**Chapter 45: Ardat-Yakshi **

_Ardat-Yakshi (meaning 'Demon of the Night Winds' in an old asari dialect) is a rare genetic condition in asari, specifically affecting their nervous systems. Although the condition does not harm the asari, during mating the Ardat-Yakshi's nervous system completely overpowers and dominates that of her mates, causing hemorrhaging in the victim's brain and ultimately death in extreme cases. As a result, the Ardat-Yakshi becomes smarter, stronger and deadlier after each encounter. Ardat-Yakshi also has the innate ability to dominate the minds of others. However, less severe cases are supposedly more common, including up to 1% of the population._

_The condition is impossible to identify until the asari reaches maturity, by which time it is too late to correct. Ardat-Yakshi is a disgrace to the asari culture. It is suspected that this condition is what lies at the root of the asari prejudice against purebloods.-Codex_

Shepherd went down stairs to see Samara, as she wanted to see him. During her stay on the Normandy, Samara had taught Shepherd how to improve on his biotics, the training at first was more than he could handle, at first, but eventually he saw his skills improve, and a new ability was born, Dominate. He went into the justicar's room, usually she was on the floor meditating, but not this time, she was standing up staring at the stars in front of her.

"Ah, Shepherd, good to see you" Samara greeted. "Have you been practicing with your biotics?"

"Every day, much to Tali's complaint, it seems biotics training is pretty noisy, and a Quarian that's had no sleep is scarier than any collector" Shepherd joked as came to her side.

Samara chuckled a little and then grew serious. "I must ask for your help and that is not easy for me" she said.

"What is it?"

"When we met on Illium, I told you about the dangerous person I was pursuing. I've found her" Samara said. "She's been going by the name Morinth. I would like to apprehend her before she disappears"

"How important is this?" Shepherd asked.

"Killing her has been my focus for four-hundred years. It is the most important thing in my life, it is the reason I became a Justicar"

"Okay where is she?" he asked.

"Omega. A night club called afterlife, the perfect place for her to hunt"

Shepherd frowned. "Hunt? Who is she?"

Samara sighed and lowered her head. "She is an Ardat-Yakshi"

"Yeah I heard one of the mercs on Illium talk about them" Shepherd said. "What are they?"

"It is a term from an old asari dialect. It means "demon of the night winds" she said. "But she is simply a very dangerous woman who kills with no mercy" Shepherd had to fight the urge of pointing out the irony of what she said, but he bit his tongue and continued to listened to the asari. "She suffers from a rare genetic disorder. When she mates, there is no gentle melding of nervous systems"

"She overpowers her victims, burns it out, and hemorrhages their brain"

"That's….a nice thought" Shepherd said disturbed.

"It manifests with maturity. When one diagnosed, she is give two choices, and only two: seclusion or death"

Shepherd was taken aback. It seemed kind of harsh, considering the peacekeeping reputation that the asari are known for. "Can't she abstain?" Samara looked away, and shook her head.

"It's addictive; once she melds there is no going back" She said. "And there is no redemption"

Shepherd lowered his head. "Is that the reason, purebloods are so hated among your people?" he asked sadly. Samara looked at him with surprise. "An old friend of mine is a pureblood"

"I see, yes it is why purebloods are so unwelcomed in asari culture, despite our inclusive nature, the condition only occurs in purebloods"

"Alright, I'll tell Joker to head for Omega" Shepherd said walking away.

"Wait, this creature...this…monster…is my daughter" Shepherd looked back at her.

"You said this is genetic, how many?"

"Three, and there a three ardat-yakshi in existence today. Two stayed in seclusion, while Morinth fled"

Although, he had known Samara for her cold, calm personality, Shepherd couldn't imagine hunting down one's own family for something they couldn't control. Samara didn't show it, but she must have felt some pain. "I'm sorry…" Samara shook her head.

"Please don't pity me…just help me find my daughter and kill her"

Shepherd nodded. "Understood" He walked out of the room to prepare. Hours later, Samara and Shepherd arrived on Omega, to search for Morinth. Samara explained that a Morinth was paranoia as she was dangerous, finding her would not be easy. Not only that, to not complicate things it would be the two of them for the search, it was safer that way. EDI spoke up.

"The daily death count on Omega is too high for me to pinpoint an Ardat-Yakshi's location"

"I'm not surprised, she wants to hunt in peace" Shepherd said.

"However, given the reputation of Ardat-Yakshi among the asari, Aria T'Loak may have tracked her movements"

Shepherd sighed. "As much as I don't want to owe her anything, we have no choice" Shepherd said annoyed. They went over to Afterlife, to meet Aria. She was sitting on her 'throne' overlooking the crowds. Shepherd made his way to the couch on her left, a place for 'honored' company, though Shepherd was not stupid it was to keep an eye on him for when he did something to the warlord.

"Shepherd, can't keep away I see" she said with a smirk.

"Unfortunately, we seem to cross paths…a lot" he said annoyed.

"And here I thought, you get off on seeing a scantily clad asari"

"No thanks, taken"

Aria snorted. "Keeping with your own species?" she asked. "I didn't take you for boring, Shepherd"

"No, she's Quarian actually"

"A man who likes a challenge, a shame you're taken" Aria said with a smirk. Shepherd rolled his eyes. She looked at Samara and frowned, Aria tolerated Shepherd, a spectre in her kingdom for the fact she somewhat respected him, but justicar were another matter they were worse than a vigilantes and spectres. "I hope you're not here to cause trouble, justicar that would be a mistake…"

Aria men's gun clicked a common intimidation tacticm Samara was unfazed by the threat. Shepherd chuckled lightly, he knew first-hand what Samara could do, Aria was good but he had a feeling if her and Samara fight it would be pretty one-sided and he hoped Aria had lots of bodybags. "I will deal with you in due time, criminal, but we have more urgent matters to deal with" she said. "An asari fugitive is hiding out here. She's an Ardar-Yakshi. We need to find her"

Aria frowned. "I knew it. Nothing leaves a body quite as…empty…as an Ardat-Yakshi does"

"You haven't taken steps to kill her?" Samara asked.

"Why would I? She hasn't tried to seduce me" Aria said with a smirk. "The bitch know better"

"Yeah, say that when the reapers hit…" Shepherd muttered. "Can you put on the path?"

"Her last victim was a young girl, pretty thing. Lived in the tenements near here. That's where I'd start looking"

Shepherd got up. "Thanks"

"Good luck finding her, better luck catching her." Luckily they didn't have long to find the victim's apartment due to it being close to the entrance to the former quarantine zone. The apartment was small but was kept up well, they felt a feeling of home, and much different from the rest of Omega it felt safe. In the living area, they found a woman greying blond hair on her couch sobbing, in her arms was a halo-picture of her and a little girl, her daughter. Even though they've seen people mourning a loved one before, it never got easy.

"Samara, let's try to make this as quick as possible…this woman been through a lot"

Samara nodded. "Understood"

The older woman looked at them come in, tried to get herself together. "Are you here about my daughter? My Nef died a week ago, and no one seems to care" She said sadly. "The medics said it was a brain hemorrhage, but that's not true. It was murder. Someone killed my Nef, my baby"

"I think she was killed too, we're looking for her killer" Shepherd said. "My name is Shepherd, this is Samara" Samara nodded, the woman got up and grabbed Samara's hand, her face with a look of gratefulness. Samara flinched a little she wasn't used to such emotion, her training and her code taught her to keep her emotion in control.

"Oh thank you! It's so hard when no one believes you. I'm all alone now" she said. "My name is Diana…"

"If you don't mind me asking, Diana, what is Nef short for?" Samara asks.

Diana smiled sadly. "Neferti, an old Egyptian sage from earth, known for being wise, just like my Nef" she said. "I truly thought she would be the one to get off this hellhole station, and make a good life for herself…"

Samara put her hand on her shoulder. "I see, I sorry for your loss"

She wiped her eyes. "Thank you; are you one of Aria's people?"

"We're here to help, does it matter who sent us?" Shepherd asked.

"If you can do something about it, I'll help anyway I can."

"What kind of girl was your daughter?" he asked.

"My Nef had a fire in her. She was shy, but she was creative and driven, and…the best girl a mother could hope for"

"Creative? How so?" Samara asked with a frown.

"She was a sculptor. Several galleries were interested in her, said her work was fresh"

"Did she have a lot of friends?"

Diana shook her head. "Not a lot, no, she was shy. Spent most of her time making sculptures, not hanging out with friends" She said. "But that all change a few weeks ago, she was talking about an asari. Morinth…"

Shepherd and Samara looked at each other. "I see…"

Diana frowned. "I didn't like her, she kept dragging Nef off to clubs and I'm pretty sure she gave my daughter drugs."

"Samara, does Morinth control her victims with drugs?" Shepherd asked.

"No, she doesn't need it, the drugs are a lifestyle. She loves the club, loves the bass. She's hedonist."

Diana's eyes went wide. "So this Morinth did hurt my mother? Is she the one that…that…?"

"I will bring justice to the one who did this" Samara said.

"Count on it, Nef will rest easy soon" he said.

Tears flowed from her eyes. "I hope so, I hope so. Oh my baby…" she choked.

"Did Nef hang out anywhere in particular?"

"No she was always quiet, working at home, then a few weeks ago, she started to go out all the time, to the VIP area of the club down the street" she said. "I think you need a password or something to get in there"

"And she just did this?"

"Yes, it was so sudden, she just seemed…tired and distracted when she wasn't around Morinth"

"I know it's painful, but do you mind if I examine Nef's room?"

"I didn't want to disturb anything. Her clothes, her art, her sculptures" Diana said sadly. "Everything is the way she left it. The way it will always be, my baby is gone. She's gone and nothing will fix that" She breaks down and cries. Shepherd puts his hand on her shoulder.

"We know how it feels to lose family" Shepherd said sadly.

"Thank you, I'm sorry. I just miss her so much"

"We will avenge her, you have our word"

"Thank you. Please, if it helps you find her killer, look through her things."

Shepherd and Samara nodded. "We'll be quick and respectful" They went inside Nef's room for clues. The room was again small but well kept, it was full of sculptures, art books and supplies, some paintings some of which were incomplete. Diana was right, Nef did have a fire, if she was anywhere else she could have made it big, but now she was just another statistic in the long list of live lost on the station. Shepherd and Samara searched for clues on the whereabouts of Morinth. Shepherd looked at the statue and the woman spoke up.

"Nef made that. A man from some gallery offered me four years' salary for it" Diana said.

"That's enough money to get you off Omega…" Shepherd said.

"It is, but I can never part with, it's all I have left of my daughter…" she said sadly. Shepherd nodded in understanding.

"Shepherd I found something…" Samara said. She held up a data pad. Shepherd took it and read it.

"Nef, I'm sending you this hologram by the elcor artist Forta. His work is sublime, but don't stare at it for too long, or you may go mad." He read. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you love. Can't wait to hear what you think of Forta"

"Morinth, she is attracted to artists, perhaps we use this to lure her" Samara said. Shepherd nodded. He looked to her bed, and saw a laptop.

"Her diary, she would talk for hours about her day." Diana said. Shepherd opened the diary. A hologram of Nef appeared, Aria was right, she was pretty.

"Read the oldest entry"

"Hey, diary. Cycle 34, orbit 671. There's a lot to talk about" she said. "I dropped Jaruut's name, and they let me into the VIP room at Afterlife. I was sure everyone was staring at me, and then the most beautiful asari starts dancing near me. She moves like water, form and volume but shifting, changing. I'm in a trance"

"Then she's dancing with me. Later, we went for skewers, and I'm supposed to see her again tomorrow"

"She entices her victims with sex appeal, once her victims is entranced, she then works to break down defenses"

Shepherd frowned it was love at first sight for Nef, to her Morinth was the one, her soulmate. Morinth twisted the poor girl's feelings for her and used it to kill her. He clenched his fist; the asari deserved whatever she got. "Read the middle entry" The hologram changed, but now Nef looked worn down.

"Cycle 36, orbit 671. Am I a freak? Morinth is a girl like, and she's definitely not human" she said. "Just…when we dance, and the Hallex is flowing through me…The way she looks at me…with a hunger, a longing…No one's ever looked at me like that. We kissed tonight."

"Read the newest entry"

This time Nef looked pale, with dark circles around her eyes. "Cycle 42, orbit 67. She's going to take me to her apartment tonight. Whatever happens, I want to be her's forever" she said. "She can sell my pieces. We can live somewhere glamorous, like the women in Vaenia, that vid Morinth likes"

She smiled. "How did this happen to me? I'm just dumb trash from Omega" Shepherd closed the diary, he had seen enough.

"This is definitely her work; she is attracted to someone with a spark, slightly isolated from her peers." Samara said. "The hunt interests her as much as the conquest"

"She kills with sex and I have no plans to sleep with her"

"Perhaps you have a right to be glib, Shepherd, but caution is wise here" she said. "Morinth speaks to you on many levels. Her body tells yours that she'll bring unimaginable ecstasy. Her scent evokes emotions long hidden"

"Her eyes promise you things you were always scared to ask of another, her voice whispers to you after she is done speaking"

"Anyone whose hunt sapient creatures for four hundred years warrant caution" Shepherd said.

"Storming her den would be a mistake; she's likely to have hundreds of escapes routes planned." She said. "She will go to ground and disappear for fifty years or more. This is the closest I've ever been"

"Then we trap her like the animal she is" Shepherd said.

"Exactly" she said. "Afterlife's VIP seems to be her preferred hunting grounds. You must go there alone and unarmed"

"I'm walking into a nightclub unarmed, about to face what is probably the most subtle and lethal predator in the galaxy... lovely" Shepherd said dryly.

"I will be in the shadows, Shepherd. You will never be alone…this I swear." Samara said. "Morinth is far too cagey…she'd simply disappear. This is a subtle, delicate act. Trust me"

"How do you know she will be attracted to me?"

"You are an artist on the battlefield. You have the vital spark that attracts her. That will draw her in"

"Right, well time's wasting. Let's get over there" They left the apartment, and went back to the Normandy so Shepherd can change into something that would blend in. They travel to the VIP section of Afterlife and use Jaruut's name to get in. Samara and Shepherd then discuss their plans to trap Morinth.

"Morinth will be watching, like any predator, she is cautious. You must pique her interest enough that she will approach you" Samara said. "When you are face to face, subtly encourage her to invite you to her apartment. I'll follow discreetly and when you are alone, I'll spring the trap"

"Know this; you will be in great danger until I get there. She will be planning to inflict horrors on you, if you are not careful, you will want her to"

"I can take care of myself"

Samara smiled. "I know, thank you Shepherd. I do not share this burden easily, and you are the only soul I can imagine sharing it with"

"No problem, you are my teacher after all" he said with a smirk. Shepherd went inside the club, the music was pounding, the energy was flowing, and there were lots of dark corners Morinth could use to look for the most promising prey. This was going to be hard, there was simply too many distractions to for a normal search, plus that would make him look suspicious. A man came up to him, Shepherd backed away from the man, he looked rough, his nose was red probably from red sand.

"Hey, do you know where to get tickets for Expel 10? I heard this amazing asari say they were her favorite band" he said. I want…I just want whatever she wants. I got to find tickets! Expel 10 is playing tomorrow"

"I don't have tickets"

"If you find some, there some credits in it for you" Shepherd rolled his eyes and went through the club until he saw an asari and a turian arguing. An asari in a pink dancer suit was being harassed by a turian with read markings, obviously drunk off his ass. He grabbed the asari's arm.

"Come one baby. I can pay. I'm a good tipper, too." The turian said lewdly.

"Fuck off, asshole!" the asari said disgust. She her arm away, but the turian was persistent.

"Don't be like that, I got creds. We'll go back to my place. I got simple tastes." He said sliding his talon down her ass.

The asari, all of a sudden slapped the turian in the face. "Back off, you dick! I'm a dancer, not a hooker" she said.

The turian rubbed his face and then gave a feral grin. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him forcefully. "You got a mouth on you! I'll enjoy watching you use it!"

Shepherd walked over and pushed the turian on the floor. "Hey numb nuts, the lady said she wasn't interested" Shepherd said. The turian glared at him as he got up.

"Fuck you ape! You don't tell me what to do!" he growled. "I'll teach you your place" He tried to punched Shepherd, but the spectre grabbed his arm and slammed his head into the pole. The bouncer came to the scene of the fighting, and carried the unconscious turian out of the club.

"He shouldn't be a problem anymore" Shepherd said.

"Thanks for that, security was asleep" she said. "You know, you're pretty cute, wanna dance?"

Shepherd blushed. "Ah…well…I" Shepherd stuttered.

The asari smirked. "That's ok, I would probably be too much for you" she then walked away. Shepherd breathed a sigh of relief. _'Good thing Tali wasn't here, that little Quarian is sweet, but man does she have a jealous streak' _he thought with a shudder. He then went to the bar, feeling a thirst.

"What'll you have?" the bartender asked.

"These are good people, but they look bored. Bored people don't spend much"

The bartender scoffed. "And you got an idea for how I could fix that"

Shepherd smirked. "A round of drinks shows that you appreciate their business. Your rep will improve and you'll make more money in the end"

The bartender snorted. "Maybe worth a try once. You better be right" He said. "Listen up, everyone! We love having you here, so a round of drinks on the house!" The crowd gave a huge cheer and went to the bar.

"You're welcome by the way" Shepherd said with a smirk. He walked across the club, until he heard a couple of turians talking.

"Lots of money on display here tonight"

"We got to hit some of that later"

"Not so loud, we'll hit it…don't worry" Shepherd frowned and confronted them.

"Good cred-hunting tonight. We'll hit'em in the alley; long as it isn't Aria's people, we're good"

"We got to get enough creds to keep Hink off our backs"

He then looked at Shepherd. "Hey! What are you looking at?"

"A pair of sad fuckers who thinks they're something and are about to find out they're not" Shepherd said with crossed arms.

One of the turians laughed. "Who's going to show us? You?"

"Human thinks he's tough"

Shepherd smirked. "Tougher than you" one of them went to grab Shepherd, but he grabbed his arm and kneed him in the stomach. The other one went with a cross hook, but Shepherd ducked and hit him with a bioticly charged punch to the chest. "And that's enough cleaning up for tonight"

An asari came up to him, when he saw Morinth he had to go a double take, her resemblance to her mother was striking. "My name is Morinth, I've been watching you. You're the most interesting person in this place" she said with a smirk. "I've got a booth in the shadows, why don't you come sit with me?"

"Don't mind if I do" Shepherd said with a fake smile. Shepherd was then guided back to a shadowy rear booth. The pair sat talking for excruciatingly long minutes talking; the girl knew how to talk a guy's ear off, kind of like his cousin and Lia on the Normandy. More than half an hour passed, until she says those fateful words.

"Do you want to get out of here? My apartment is nearby, and I want you alone"

"Good I was thinking the same thing" He said. The two went back to her apartment, with Samara following closely.

The walk back was strange to say the least, the way Morinth and Shepherd looked; you would think it was a casual date between lovers. The asari that walked beside him could easily have passed for her mother with only the smallest of changes and she possessed equal grace. Her voice was rich with inflection; tone thick with the promise of untold pleasures, Shepherd knew he had his work cut out for him to resist her. Finally they stopped and the asari tapped at a door that slid open to reveal a spacious apartment.

The place was clean, well as clean as you can get on Omega. Her apartment had an interesting assortment of items decorated Morinth's home, from a rifle hanging on the wall to a large ornate looking statue of a krogan warrior. A rack holding a number of what were likely fine wines rested near the entrance to the kitchen while large, plush couch occupied the majority of the main living area.

"You know how to live in class"

"I like the finer things in life, I suppose most us do" Morinth said. "Why don't you sit with me? I think you'll find it quite comfortable."

Shepherd hesitated a bit, but then remembered his role and sat down. "So what do you like?"

"I love clubs…people movement, heat. I can still hear the bass, like the drums of a great hunt, out for your blood" she said. "But here, it's muted and you're safe. Is that what you want, Shepherd?"

'Better do my best Jack impression' he thought. "I rather fight than hide"

Morinth smirked. "Yes, better to take control of your fate" she said. "I never understood the fascination with safety. Some of us choose differently." She then came close to Shepherd, too close for comfort.

"Independence over submission, I think we share that, you and I"

Shepherd snorted. "You compare us, but you're nowhere near my league"

"So strong, I need this" Her eyes then went black. "Look into my eyes and tell me you want me, tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I want"

Shepherd smirked and pushed her face back. "Sorry, but I'm taken"

Morinth eyes went wide. "How can you resist me? No one's will is that strong"

"I got a good teacher"

She blinked at him in surprised before realization finally dawned on her. Morinth frowned."The bitch found herself a little helper"

The door blew open and Samara appeared glowing with biotic power. "Morinth, its over" Morinth moved to rise but the justicar lashed out, a blast of energy slamming the younger asari into the glass window hard enough to send cracks streaking across the pane. She hissed in pain, locking eyes with the justicar.

"Mother" She said with venom.

"Do not call me that!" Samara said applying more pressure.

"I can't choose to stop being your daughter, Mother"

"You made your choice long ago" She glared at Samara, her eyes held so much hatred for the older asari

"What choice, mother?" she snarled and lashed out with a wave of biotic power of her own that was enough to knock Shepherd off the couch on onto his back and stagger Samara. "My only crime was being born with the gifts you gave me!"

She picked up a table and threw it at Samara, but the justicar crushed it with a wave of her hand. "Enough, Morinth!" she said pushing her back. Mother and daughter both sprang to their feet at the same time and unleashed the full force of their abilities, Shepherd painfully tried to get open only to be sent sprawling by another wave of power. A singularity crackling to life in the middle of the room where strength met strength. Shepherd got up, barely keeping his balance and witnessed the spectacle, it was quite the sight, well, it would have been if the spectre wasn't so busy dodging floating debris from the two asari's power struggle. The biotic storm only got more intense as the steel floor and the windows were giving way from the power, Shepherd didn't know how long this was going to last but he hoped it was soon.

"I am the genetic destiny of the asari, one that they fear and are unwilling to admit so they decide I must die!" the younger woman yelled and looked to him. "I'm as strong as she is. Let me join you!"

"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more" Samara said and looked at Shepherd. "I am sworn to your service, Shepherd. Let us finish this." Shepherd nodded and struggled to get to the young asari almost collapsing to his knee when he got close. The spectre grabbed Morinth's arm. The swirl of biotic power stopped and everything that was flying soon dropped on the floor with multiple thuds.

"It's over" he said.

The younger asari scoffed. "And they call me a monster"

"I am a monster, but even a monster has their limits" She tried to struggle, but without her biotics, Morinth was as strong as an ordinary person. Samara glowed and flung her daughter across the room.

She struggled to her knees but couldn't rise further, leaning forward on one hand. When she looked up at Samara the anger was pouring out her. "All of this….is your fucking fault…all I wanted was a life and you took it from me, before I was even born" she growled with tears in her eyes. "I hate you!"

Samara's voice was quiet when she spoke. "I know, child. I know," Samara replied. "Find peace in the embrace of the goddess."

Her fist glowed with biotic power and loud dull thud echoed in the sudden silence and the Ardat Yakshi was finally gone forever. Shepherd just stared as Samara stood wordlessly, glancing a final time down at Morinth's limp form before meeting his gaze.

"Samara…" Shepherd started. She just raised her hand.

"Don't, what would you have me say, Shepherd? I just killed the bravest and smartest of my daughters. There are no words, not now. Show mercy on a broken old warrior and let us leave this place... I am ready to go." Her voice held the centuries of regret she held for so long.

"I understand" he said somberly.

They left; there was no fanfare, no crying, only a fallen asari and a depressing silence.

_Samara has dealt with the Ardat-Yakshi. She remains loyal to Shepard personally. Loyalty of the justicar beyond question, given apparent bonds of oath rendered to Shepard. Better than hoped. Cerberus activities will not be affected further by presence of Shepard's team. Relieved to have justicar's mission completed. Unfortunately, body of Ardat-Yakshi could not be taken for study. Genetic abnormality could have been useful. Subject's expertise would have made her a valuable team member if sociopathic tendencies were mitigated.- Mission Summary_


	54. Chapter 46: Dog Food and The Paparazzi

**Chapter 46: Dog food and The Paparazzi**

It was a peaceful night on the Normandy, with only the skeleton crew working the ship. On the crew deck was the resident ship varren, Urz sleeping peacefully. It took some time for the some of the Normandy to get used to the fishdog, but after while they gotten used to him. A loud grumbling sound woke Urz up, he was hungry and went to the special food dispenser, the engineers set up, it would scan the varren and release the food into the large bowl, or at least that was what it is suppose to do.

Urz grunted, a sort of varren version of whining, at the empty bowl, his stomach growled he had to have some food in his stomach. The varren sniffed the air, a new scent that he didn't recognize; the fishdog followed the smell until it led him a door. The door opened and Urz went in. He sniffed the air, the smell was stronger in here, and he followed it and saw a black mass in the corner of the room. He didn't know what it was, but it smelled good, he licked his chops and chowed down on the mass. It was tasty, very tasty, but that wasn't saying much for Urz, to a varren everything was tasty. After a while, Urz had his full, his eyes grew tired and went to the side to sleep.

The next day, Shepherd and Tali went down to the crew deck for breakfast, it was good for once to get up in the morning and not have a mission to worry about, they had almost forgotten what it was like. Maybe they would have another uneventful day, as they got out of the elevator they could hear arguing. Shepherd sighed, so much for that second uneventful day, they turned the corner and saw as usual Miranda and Jack at each other throats again. The spectre pinched his forehead in annoyance, he would have thought after Pragia, they had come to some sort of understanding, but it was too much to hope.

"You better watch where you're throwing accusations, bitch!" Jack growled. "I don't how the mutt got into your room!"

"Bullshit! This is just the kind of juvenile crap you would pull!" Miranda yelled. Both of the women's biotics started to flare, and crew got really nervous until Shepherd whistled and got their attention.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Shepherd asked. Miranda and Jack went silent. Shepherd crossed his arms. "Well?" Urz came and walked around the crew deck and Miranda pointed at him.

"That thing came into my room and ate my shoes, look!" Miranda held up some black and red tatters, Shepherd couldn't even tell they were shoes until he saw the heel attached to the tatters. He saw his fishdog on the side, wagging his tail happily when he saw the tatters.

Jack scoffed. "And Cheerleader here, thought I had something to do with it" she said. "Like I would waste my time…"

"Huh, strange…Urz never did anything like this before…" Tali said walking over to his bowl. She checked the compartment where Urz's food is stored and found it was empty. "So that's why…" Urz came up to Tali and rubbed his head on her hand, grunting. Tali sighed. "I know you were hungry, but you shouldn't have done that" Urz lowered his head.

"Shepherd, do something about your varren" Miranda said. "Or we will"

Shepherd sighed. "All right, all right…Look we're approaching the Citadel, we need to restock anyway." Miranda and Jack walked away, to cool down for a bit. Urz came over and licked his hand. "Don't try to butter me up, you're in big trouble" Urz grunted.

The Normandy docked at the Citadel for fueling and static discharge, as well as for its retrofits. Shepherd, Tali, and Miranda came out of the ship. To not cause any trouble, Urz was confined to the cargo hold and fed scarps Rupert left over from cooking, something the varren didn't mind. Once they got cleared of security, they went on their separate ways. The pet store was fairly close to the docks, and looked like the stores back on Earth. They had a great assortment of animals, most of them animals from Earth. Tali went over to the puppy cage and absolutely gushed over the dogs, and the puppies moved over to see Tali, their little tails wagging happily at seeing her. Tali picked up a black puppy and scratched his tummy, dog squeaked happily. Shepherd chuckled; even aliens weren't immune to the cuteness of earth mammals.

"Keelah, they're so cute…" Tali said hugging the puppy.

Shepherd looked at the price tag for the puppies, fifty-thousand credits for one puppy, although it was no surprise, Earth animals are considered exotic to aliens. "Yeah, and so expensive…back on Mindoir if someone had puppies, they would just give them away…" Tali looked at him in confusion, she had never heard people giving things away for free, the fleet had always taught her to earn everything they get, because nothing was for free especially to quarians. Shepherd chuckled. "Takes me back…"

"Did you have pet as a child?" Tali asked.

"Me, nah, pets were too much trouble for my family" Shepherd said. "But Emi, had loads of animals due to her family owning a farm" He smiled at the memory, spending the summer playing with her family's dogs, feeding the other animals, and helping Emi's mom with the birth of a new life on the farm. "Urz is pretty much the first pet I ever had…the varren drives me crazy at times, but I wouldn't trade him for the world"

Tali grasped his hand. "Neither would I…" Shepherd smiled, and went over to the clerk for some varren food. It was not much in the back shelf but a few brands, though it was understandable, varren were not really considered pet material. A few hundred credits, for big bag and they were on their way, but not before giving the store his little endorsement. The clerk activated his voice recorder and….

"I'm Commander Shepherd, and this my favorite store on the Citadel" The couple left, to find something eat before meeting up with Miranda again. As they walked to a restaurant, they could hear the dozens of endorsement he's given to the stores he shopped to. "Ah, the beauty of fame…" Shepherd said with a smirk.

Tali shook her head. "Just when your head couldn't get any bigger"

"Hey, if you got it, flaunt it" Shepherd said. "I can't help if I'm famous" Tali sighed in annoyance. As they got close to this new restaurant, the Dark Orbit, a woman came up to them. She was of Arabic descent, wearing a tight blue dress, popular with the asari. On her side was a camera drone, looking at the couple.

"Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News" She offered her hand, and Shepherd looked at her with a raised brow. She cleared her throat. "I interviewed you, two years ago, after you became spectre…"

"I don't remember you…" Shepherd said. Tali spoke up.

"But I do, you tried to smear his name" Tali said with crossed arms. Khalisah paled and walked back slightly, all of a sudden it came back to Shepherd. It was during Shepherd and Tali's first date, the woman ambushed them and started her questions, but it became apparent from her that she was appealing to popular human opinion; she is critical of the Citadel Council, believing it treats humanity as a "poor relation". Al-Jilani continued to push for answers that 'prove' that Shepherd was a shill for the Council until Tali got angry and came close to punching the woman out before Shepherd stopped her. Ultimately her hit job didn't work as she came across as a raving idiot, but it looked like now she was back for round two, that is…if Tali stopped scaring the woman.

"Shepherd, tell your quarian friend to back away, I only want to talk to you that's all" She said. "I'm just doing my job…" Shepherd noticed that the camera droid was on; recording every potential embarrassing thing that could happen, the spectre now knew what Tali meant.

"Sure I'll talk…" Tali looked at him with surprise, and the spectre winked at her and the interview started.

"Glad you can see reason, Commander" She said. "Sources said you were at the heart of the presidium during the Battle of the Citadel, it's fair to say that the battle hinged on your words"

"If true you told Admiral Hackett to assist the Destiny Ascension at the cost of human lives and assured the continued dominance of the Council"

"I don't see it that way, Sovereign and Saren was a threat to everyone, human and council races" Shepherd said. "The turians lost twenty cruisers, my guess with a crew of three-hundred, the Destiny Ascension, had a crew of ten thousand…civilians included, how do you think humanity and the Alliance would be seen if we didn't help our neighbors?"

Al-Jilani flinched. "But surely the human cost…"

Shepherd frowned. "I am well aware of the human cost, Ms. Jilani, we lost eight cruisers Shenyang, Emden, Jakarta, Cairo, Seoul, Cape Town, Warsaw, and Madrid" he said. "Those men and women are heroes, without them we would have never gotten a seat to the Council, in fact we would be dead"

"But Commander…"

"The Alliance owes them medals, and the council a lot more than that" Shepherd said. "and so do you" Shepherd grabbed Tali's hand and walked into the restaurant, leaving the speechless reporter.

"Not bad" Tali said with a smirk.

"I try" After they eaten, they went back to dock to meet Miranda, who was ordering the delivery people around. They were lined up trying to get into the Normandy. Shepherd wondered how many shoes she buy, one of the men fell and the box almost fell of the dock.

"Hey, careful with those boxes, they cost more than you!" she yelled.

"Wow, you think you have enough shoes, Miranda?" Shepherd asked sarcastically. Miranda scoffed, as the delivery people were finished putting her package in the Normandy. Back on the Normandy, Miranda revealed her purchase, shoes to replace the ones she lost along with a special locker so Urz wouldn't have another midnight snack. Shepherd put the food in Urz's canister, and the varren came to eat, luckily it would be a while before Urz ran out of food. Despite the fact varren can eat almost everything, they surprisingly eat very little. Shepherd chuckled. "This was fun; we got to do this again more often"

Tali hugged Shepherd and smiled. "A lot more often"


	55. Chapter 47: Sins of the Father

**Chapter 47: Sins of the Father**

Thane was enjoying a quiet day meditating with Samara, despite being an assassin and her being a justicar; they got along quite well, due to their similar personalities. Thane had noticed a change in his friend ever since she came back from Omega, she more calmed, and there was less tension in her aura, whatever happened it had a profound effect. Just as he was about to question her change, there was a beep from his omni-tool. When opened it, his eyes went wide. Samara looked at him

"Thane, is anything wrong?" Samara asked.

Thane regained his composure. "No, my friend, just someone's idea of a joke" he lied. Samara looked at him, not really convinced, but left it alone. Thane got up. "If you excuse me, I think I will be finishing my meditations for today"

"Of course" She said with a nod. Thane walked back to his room, and opened his omni-tool.

"Yes? Thane is something the matter?" Kelly asked.

"Is Shepherd back? I wish to speak with him" Thane asked. "It is urgent" Kelly nodded. Moments later, Shepherd met up with him, he was at his desk deep in thought.

"I got Kelly's message, what's wrong?" Shepherd asked.

"It is difficult to talk about" Thane said.

Shepherd frowned. "Is it your disease?"

"No, though I suppose it is part of it. Mortality has a way of making you dwell on things" Thane said.

"Like?"

"My family, or what's left of it, I have a son, one I haven't seen for a long time" he said. "His name is Kolyat" Shepherd was surprised, Thane never talked about himself or his life, he mostly kept to himself. Thane had checked in on his only remaining family member, his son, Kolyat who he haven't seen in ten years. Apparently ten years was enough for his son to be disconnected, at first Shepherd thought his son was injured but it was a term from the Hanar religion, meaning his soul and body are in conflict Kolyat apparently wants to practice the same profession as his father, which greatly troubles Thane. Shepherd sat down next to him.

"That's not good…"

"I agree this is not a path he should walk" he said. "I would like your help if possible"

Shepherd nodded and raised his omni-tool. "Joker, get us to the Citadel"

"Right Commander, ETA four hours"

"Thank you, hopefully we won't be too late"

Shepherd and Thane exited the Normandy went to Bailey's office; hopefully he would some info on Kolyat's whereabouts. For once, it seemed to be a slow day at C-sec, as he was at his desk watching vids of a football game back on Earth. He saw the two men approach and went up to greet them.

"Ah Shepherd, good work on catching Fade, I should have known it was that snake Harkin" Bailey said. "Even when we kicked him out he's still a pain in the ass"

The spectre smirked. "No problem, it was fun to scare the hell out of him" he said. "So, where is our good buddy, Harkin?"

"Doing forty to fifty behind bars, along with his buddies from the Blue Suns" he said. "They won't be happy with him, so it's a good thing I separated him, bloodstains tend to be bitch to clean" He then looked at Thane. "So I take it you need something?"

"My friend here is looking for his son; we think a local criminal may have hired him"

"Should be easy, drell are a rare sight on the Citadel" he said. Bailey went back to his desk and typed into his terminal. A beep. "Aha, one of my men spotted a drell recently, and he was talking with Mouse, interesting"

Thane looked at him. "Mouse?"

"A criminal, pretty small time, knowing him he's probably not the guy who hired your boy, but a messenger, he's a former duct rat, they run errands for anyone who'll pay." Shepherd tiled his head, and Bailey explained they were the poor, homeless children of the Citadel who travel in the ventilation system of the station.

Shepherd frowned. "Aren't the ducts dangerous?"

Bailey sighed. "Every couple of months, we pull a small body out of them, cut up by the fan blades, broken by deadfall. And those are just the ones accounted for" he said. "Most just disappear, sucked into space or fall into the protein vats the keepers run"

"Mouse survived long enough that he can't fit in the ducts anymore. He was one of the smarter ones or the luckier ones"

"Where can I find him?"

"Mouse is usually upstairs, outside the Dark star. He works out of a public comm terminal" Bailey said. "It sounds like your boy's running with the wrong crowd"

"Yes, I agree"

"If Mouse can't get you in touch with your son directly, he'll know who can. I'll help you if you need it"

"Thanks" Shepherd walked away. Thane stopped him.

"You didn't tell him that Kolyat, plans to assassinate someone" he said.

"I also didn't tell him what you do for a living. Do you normally discuss assassination with the police?"

Thane blinked. "I see your point" Shepherd and Thane when upstairs. They saw a tanned skinned man, barely out of his teens. He was wearing a nice suit, something he earned from all work he did for various contacts. As they got close, they could hear him talking to someone on his omni-tool.

"Yeah, yeah. I can get that no problem" he said. He then frowned. "Well, okay. That might be more difficult"

"No it's fine. I've got some Quarians who can strip the copy protection. Just costs more"

"Yeah, I got the package" he said. "It'll be there. Don't worry, I'll deliver it myself"

"Yeah sure, I can get you to cases by the end of the day"

"You Mouse?" Shepherd asked. Mouse turned around.

"What do you want…oh shit! Krios? I thought you retired!" He then looked at Shepherd. "Commander Shepherd? I thought you died! What do you with me?"

Shepherd smirked. "I like him, he squirms easily" Mouse gulped, as he paled from his words.

"Be still, Mouse. You can change your pants in a moment" Thane said.

"How do you know Thane?"

"Kiros? He didn't…? Uh, if he didn't say anything, I ain't either" He said with crossed arms.

"When we heard the name, I didn't think it could be the same Mouse" he said. Thane explained about a decade ago, Thane used Mouse and the other children to gather information on his assassination targets. Shepherd frowned and looked at him; he didn't like what he heard.

"You put kids in danger to spy for you?" However, Thane was unfazed by his reaction, just shrugged his shoulders.

"Children, the poor. My people's word for their kind is drala'fa", the ignored. They're everywhere, see everything, yet they are never seen" Thane then grabbed Mouse. "You gave another drell instruction for an assassination. Who's the target?"

I…I don't know, I didn't ask. 'Cause the people I work for? They can make me disappear" he said I'd like to help you, Krios. You always done right by us, but I ain't going to die for you"

"You know Thane; he wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Do it for him"

Mouse sighed. "I want to, he was always nice to us, but these people ain't nice, Krios"

"No one will know you talked" Shepherd said. "I can use my spectre connections to protect you"

Mouse looked at him. "You would do that?" Shepherd nodded.

"Mouse, I swear you won't be named"

"All right…all right. He came with that halo you of me, said he wanted a job" he said. "I ran through your old contacts to see who might give him a shot. The guy who offered was Elias Kelham"

"Tell me about Kelham"

"Human, moved to the Citadel about ten years ago. He was little people when you were here, Krios" Mouse said. "He got big after the geth attack, lots of guys from before they got cacked. All in them big fancy apartment up on the Presidium"

"He now runs the rackets on the lower end of the ward. Shin Akiba. He's seriously bad news"

Shepherd cracked his knuckles. "Sounds like fun" he said with a smirk.

"You did good Mouse" Thane said.

"Yeah right. When Kelham finds out, I won't live long. I won't be able to do anything but hide" Mouse said grimly. "Krios if you got any kindness for me, but a bullet in Kelham before you go" Mouse walked away. Thane lowered his head.

"You alright?" Shepherd asked.

"Mouse knew more about my life than Kolyat ever did" he said. He then went into a trance. "He smiles up at me, broken teeth and scabby knees, bare feet black. A dead end future looking up at me. Worshiping the petty gifts I offer"

"I was the only good thing he had, back then, but I left him, like I left Kolyat" Shepherd put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself"

"If I don't who will? We must carry the weight of our decisions, Shepherd" Thane said. "You of all people know this" Shepherd and Thane went back to Bailey about Elias Kelham.

"Well that was quick, I take it Mouse gave up the name"

"He did, Elias Kelham" Shepherd said.

Bailey groaned and palmed his face. "I thought so…" he said. "Goddamn it"

"Is something the matter, Captain?" Thane asked.

The officer sighed. "There's no easy way to say this, but Kelham and I have a…truce of sorts."

Shepherd crossed his arms. "Meaning?" The C-Sec captain explains because he and Kelham have an arrangement—Kelham bribes Bailey and he looks the other way. Shepherd sighed. "I can't believe this, this is like a bad detective movie" he said annoyed. "So what now, is it too inconvenient for you?"

"I can still bring him in, I just can't help you, and he'll expect me to bail him out"

Shepherd smirked. "Well he's just shit out of luck then, get your people to take him in and I'll introduce him to my version of 'tender loving care"

"Alright, just don't too much damage; I don't need a war between my people and his"

"Got it" Bailey went to get his people ready.

"So how are we going to do this?" Thane asked.

"The classic good cop, bad cop routine, it never fails" he said. Thane nodded. Moments later Kelham was brought in by C-sec. A turian came up to him.

"Sir his lawyer is here, Elias had his VI set to page him if C-sec gets within ten meters"

"Tell him this is Spectre business, not C-sec's, and if that doesn't work, tell him that if I even smell him coming, he's got a bullet waiting for him" Shepherd said.

"Yes sir!"

"That should give you a good hour with him at least" Bailey said.

Shepherd smirked. "Good" They went inside. Kelham was bound to a chair, he was well-dressed, well-groomed man in dark suit, such was the advantage of leeching off of the helpless for two years. The man was cocky bastard, but they were always cocky before Shepherd was through with them.

"Get me out of these restraints, Bailey. Pretty funny, bringing me down like this…" he said. Kelham looked to his side and frowned. "Who the hell are you two?"

"The name's Shepherd, spectre" He said. "Here's how it works, I ask a question, you answer the question and you speak when spoken to"

Kelham scoffed. "Prove it"

"Have it your way…" Shepherd smacked him hard. "Do we have an understanding?"

Kelham growled. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Thane crossed his arms. "Just tell us what we need to know, my friend is not gentle" he said. "You gave another drell a hit on someone, who's is the target?"

"Fuck you frog boy" he said. "You going to bore me into confessing? You ain't shit"

Shepherd smacked him again, giving him a black eye. "Apparently you ain't either"

Kelham gave a murderous glare. "Do you know what I'm going to do when I get out of here?"

Shepherd crossed his arms. "Do you?" Thane came to him.

"This isn't working; we'll kill him before we get anything"

"I got an idea, but I may hate myself in the morning"

Shepherd went to face Kelham, he was eerily calm. "What the fuck you looking at?"

"You know, before you got here, I took the time to read your file, I'm a pretty fast reader." He said. "I found something pretty interesting on you"

Kelham scoffed. "What?"

Shepherd looked him dead in the eye. "You like to play the hardass criminal, but lo and behold you are actually a loving husband and a doting father" he said with a cruel smirk. Shepherd went to the desk to reveal a photo of an two asari, one in the Matron stage in a grey dress and little asari in a sundress and a human girl, with dark skin that was a little more tomboyish.

"Where did you get that?!" Kelham asked outraged.

"Oh friends in very high places, the type of people who hates your kind" Shepherd said. He looked at the picture and chuckled. "I wonder what your beautiful wife, Asinia would think about the man she married, and your two daughters, Kori and Amanda, the poor girls are just so young…so vulnerable" Kelham glared at him.

Shepherd whispered in his ears. "Better yet, how about I pay them a visit? "

"You son of a bitch!" Kelham growled. He tried getting at him, but the restraints held him back and Shepherd chuckled.

"You know before I became a Spectre, I had a rather unflattering, but fitting nickname, 'The Butcher of Torfan, I'm sure you've heard of me"

Kelham's eyes went wide. "Impossible, you died two years ago!" Shepherd smacked him hard again, causing a small trickle of blood flowed from his mouth.

"Please Mr. Kelham, I'm telling a story here. Now where was I? Oh yeah! Your loving family. Do you know why they call me the Butcher? Well if you don't give me a name in the next few minutes, your family will know firsthand, with you having front-row seats" he said. He eyes grew cold and so did his voice. "And the best thing? There is not a fucking thing you can do about it"

"You goddamned monster…"

"Damn right I am, I want a name now" Shepherd said coldly.

"Jorim…Jorim Talid, he's a turian in the eight-hundred blocks" he said in defeat.

Shepherd smirked and pats him on the head. "Good boy, Kelham, you're learning" he said. He and Thane began to walk away.

"W-wait, you'll leave my family alone, right?!"

Shepherd looked back at him. "Don't know, that all depends on you in the future" Shepherd and Thane left the broken, crying man. His lawyer came to him and quickly released his shackles, he then glared at Shepherd.

"What did you do to my client?!" The lawyer asked angrily.

"I do believe I just put the fear of god in him" Shepherd said. The door closed behind them, and Shepherd took a deep breath. He did what he had to, but it still didn't make him feel any better, he hated invoking the Butcher even if it was bluff.

"Your interrogation technique was quite interesting. I almost believed you would carry out your threat" the drell said.

Shepherd shuddered. "For a moment there so did I…" They went to Bailey, waiting outside of the interrogation room.

"That was quick, so what's the story?"

"A turian named Joram Talid. You know him?" Bailey nodded and pointed to a poster on the wall, it had a picture of a turian with pale white markings on his face, shaking hands with C-sec members with the words 'Fighter of the people' at the top.

"Yeah, his posters are everywhere, he's promised to end organized crime on the ward."

"Ambitious but noble, I can see why Kelham would be worried" Thane said.

"Except, his candidacy has an anti-human platform" Bailey said. ""The election is in a few days, he's trying to get people stirred up about 'human aggression'."

"Things are so bad that he can openly campaign as anti-human?" Shepherd asked.

"Look around, a human council seat, and add in the fact that half the cops they're seeing are human and it goes downhill from there." He said. "Anderson is doing the best he can, but the aliens still think we're thugs, staging a coup"

Shepherd shook his head. "Politics…"

Bailey snorted. "You said it…" He then looked at one of his men. "Sergeant! Get a patrol car. These two need to get to the eight-hundred blocks"

The officer saluted. "Yes sir!" The two made it to the eight-hundred blocks, or the business district of the Citadel. People were out doing their shopping or just going out for some fun. They saw Talid, talking to salarian, a volus, a hanar and another turian. To his side was a krogan, wearing the colors of the Blood Pack, a bodyguard for when another one like Kelham attempted to get rid of him.

"There he is, how do you want to play this?" Shepherd asked.

"We need Kolyat to reveal himself, if we just go in and tackle Talid he'll just disappear before I can talk to him. It's risky but we have to wait for him to make his move." Thane said. "Follow Talid on the catwalks; tell me what he's doing. The krogan should make him easy to spot"

"Where will you be?"

"In the shadows with the best view" Shepherd nodded and gets into position. Thane lowered his hand and clasped his hands. "Amonkira. Lord of Hunters, grant that my hands be steady, my aim be true, and my feet swift" he prayed. "And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness" He disappeared in the crowd.

Shepherd got in the position overlooking the turian and his bodyguard. "It's been wonderful talking to you all; I hope to see you on Election Day"

Shepherd opened his com. "In position"

"Understood" Thane replied. Talid and his bodyguard walked forward and Shepherd followed, until he stopped when the turian stopped to talk with two asari, and some elcor,"What is he doing?"

"Looks like he's talking to some more voters, no sign of him"

"I'm moving to another position, ahead of him"

"Roger that" He finished his talks and went on his way, and Shepherd follows.

"Talid is waiting outside, the bodyguard is going inside. Do you have a better view, Shepherd?" Thane asked.

"Got it" Looking on the other side of the catwalk he saw the large krogan that had just entered a small hardware shop. The krogan and human shopkeeper seemed to be arguing until the larger alien leaned over the counter threateningly; the human capitulating and sliding what looked like a credit chit across the surface of the counter.

"Son of a bitch, it seems our good politician is shaking down local humans for protection money"

"That would explain the Blood Pack merc" Thane said. Shepherd then noticed a shot ringing out, the people scattered and a drell came in and took aim.

"Thane!"

The krogan charges him, but the young wounds the bodyguard. "I see him, Kolyat!" he yelled. The younger drell turned and Talid made a run for it.

"Shit" he said as he went after him. The krogan protecting him got off the floor and attacked Thane mistaking him for Kolyat. He charged Thane, pinning him to the wall.

"Crap, Thane!"

"Go after Kolyat, I'll catch up" Thane said. Shepherd was reluctant at first. "Go!" Shepherd nodded and ran after Talid and Kolyat. Luckily, it wasn't hard to keep track of him, as the crowds were dispersed when they saw the chase. They made it to the building, and Shepherd raised his com.

"Thane he's heading for Talid's apartment" Shepherd said. "How are things on your end?"

"A setback, but not difficult, I'll meet you there, call Bailey, just in case"

"Got it"

At Talid's apartment, Kolyat is ready to execute Talid when Shepherd, Thane, Bailey, and a C-Sec officer arrive. "Kolyat…"

Kolyat frowned. "Now? You show up now? Is this a joke?" the younger drell said.

"Help me drell. I'll do anything you want"

"Put the gun down, son" Bailey said with his weapon raised.

"Get out of my way. I'm walking out, and he's coming with me" Kolyat said.

"They'll have snipers outside, son" Thane said.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he said raising his weapon at Thane. "You haven't had the right to call me that in ten years"

"I'm putting an end to this…" Shepherd then fired at the lamp to distract Kolyat and went to disarm him. "Talid, get the hell out of here, and you better remember it was a human that saved your ass"

'Yeah, yeah I will"

"You son of a bitch!" Kolyat went to attack Shepherd, but he was too fast, and flipped the young drell on to the floor.

"Take your head out of your fucking ass, and listen for goddamn once" Shepherd said. "You're wasting your time and your life, while your dad is dying"

Kolyat blinked. "W-what?"

"He has Kepral Syndrone, and doesn't have long, he wanted to talk to you" he said. "Your Dad and I have killed, Kolyat. You haven't. There's no reason for you to start"

"I read his files. What made okay for him to kill all those years?"

"I was six when the hanar began my training. I've known nothing else in my life. But your mother... she woke me from my battle sleep."

Tears fell from his face. "Then why did you leave her? Why weren't you there when she died?!" Kolyat asked angrily.

Thane lowered his head. "Because her death was my fault" he said. "She died because she loved me"

"W-what?"

"After her body was given to the deep I slipped into my battle sleep once more. I hunted them. The trigger men. The ringleaders. I hurt them. Eventually killed them. All of them. And when I finally came back to see you... you were older. I should have stayed with you."

"I guess it's too bad that you waited so long." He said bitterly.

"I know you hate me, and I don't blame you, but please believe me when I say this" Thane said sadly. "I have taken many bad things out of this world, Kolyat. You are the only good thing I have ever added to it." Kolyat dropped his gun and fell to the floor, broke down and cried.

"Damn you, damn you…" he muttered.

Bailey sighed. "This isn't a conversation you should have in front of strangers. I'll have my officers escort you and your son to C-Sec. We'll give you one of the interrogation rooms, take as long as you need."

"Thank you, captain" he said, he walked away with C-sec and Kolyat.

"You surprise me, Bailey; you stuck your neck out for us despite your truce with Kelham" Shepherd said. "Why?"

"You think he's the only one who screwed up raising a son?" Bailey asked sadly. "The only difference is he did something about it, before it was too late" Shepherd nodded and they walked away. Shepherd was waiting for Thane in the lobby, it had been a while since they got back to C-sec, and Bailey was nice enough to give Thane and son a private place to talk.

"They've been in there a while"

"Kid's been through a lot" Bailey said. "I ran some searches in the archives, about ten years back, some real bad people were killed, someone was really cleaning house, and the main suspect was a drell"

"Leave it alone, spectre orders"

Bailey smirked. "Someone has to deal with it, doesn't have to be me though" Thane then came out of the interrogation room.

"How's the kid?"

"Our problems is not something we can fix in one day, we'll keep talking, see what happens"

"Good news, Thane, we were talking and Bailey said he would give Kolyat a job in C-sec" Shepherd said.

"Provided, he does community service and basic training, your kid has the skills; he just needs to hone them the right way" Bailey said.

Thane smiled. "Thank you…"

_Thane has dealt with his son. He should be clear of any further distractions from the mission._

_Thane's personal matter revealed troubling issue with Citadel politics. May have to support Elias Kelham and similar criminals to counteract anti-human bias. Bailey at C-Sec offers a possible recruiting opportunity.- Mission Summary._

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	56. Chapter 48: Lia's First Date

**Chapter 48: Lia's First Date**

Shepherd came out to the CIC to make an announcement; three weeks after helping Thane with his son the Normandy crew had been busy from dealing with a rogue VI to rescuing the colony of Watson from a terrorist at. The crew was just so worn out and tempers were high, if this kept up they were end killing each other before the Collectors had a chance to. It was time for a vacation, screw the galaxy for once. He went up to the intercom and opened the com to everyone on the ship. "Alright listen up, we're having a four-day break on Illium, anyone who wants it can have it " Shepherd said. The crew erupted in cheers.

"Huh, déjà vu…" Shepherd muttered. He continued. "But while we're there I expect you to be on your best behavior, this is Illium we're talking about, and bail outs are expensive, and if you're listening Jack, yes that's means you"

"But other than that, have fun" The Normandy landed in Illium to start their shore leave. As Shepherd was waiting for Tali, he saw some of his crewmates leave. Grunt and Zaeed was the first to leave, the old vet said something about making Grunt a man, which kinda made Shepherd worried. Samara and Thane decided to stay on the ship, saying meditation and quiet was all the vacation they needed. Joker came out, much to the surprise of Shepherd, he usually stayed on the ship but EDI was getting on his nerves. Next was Miranda and Jacob, arm in arm leaving the ship, to go watch and a vid.

"Don't wait up" Miranda said with a smirk. Jacob just blushed as he walked with her. Garrus was the next one to come out; Shepherd already knew where he was going, to see Liara. Next was surprisingly was Kelly and Jack, Kelly was hooked on her arm looking really content, while Jack looked like a mix between happy and uncomfortable, it was hard to tell with her. Kelly was wearing a dark red dress with black heels while Jack had on a black biker vest with a tank top underneath, black jeans, and steel toe boots.

"Where are you two going?" Shepherd asked.

"On a date" Jack said. Shepherd blinked while Jack glared at him. "What the fuck is with that look?"

"You, a date…?"

"F…Fuck you! What you trying to say?!" Shepherd held up his hand in defense, until Kelly did something surprising, she kissed Jack's lips, shutting her up. Jack blushed. "W-what's that for?"

Kelly smiled. "You're kinda sexy when you yell"

"Uh….I….fuck, let's just go…" she said sheepishly. As the two left, Shepherd mouth out the words 'thank you', Kelly gave a small wink. Next Kaiden and Kasumi came out; they were going to hit the clubs, looking for some guys to have fun with.

"I'm surprised Lia's not coming with you, cuz" Shepherd said.

Kasumi rubbed her head. "Lia's a bit too green for where we're going" Shepherd looked at her strangely. "Look just don't expect us back for at least two days, ok"

Shepherd looked at Kaiden. "Where are you going?"

"This club in Nos Astra, it kinda have this reputation for being wild, I'm just here to make sure nothing happens" Kaiden said. "See ya"

"Just don't get into trouble; I'm not bailing you out"

"Yeah right…"

"I mean it!" Shepherd then saw Tali and Lia, he smiled as Tali waved to him.

"I'm sorry we took so long, Wayne, we needed to put finishing touch on the engines." She said. Shepherd kissed her.

"No problem, rookie" Shepherd said. The three walked out of the ship. "So what are you going to do, Lia?"

"I wanted to go shopping for some parts for the ship; I think we can do more with the Normandy's upgrades"

"Thinking of working instead of relaxing, my god, you turned Lia into a clone of you, Tali" Shepherd said with a laugh. That earned him an elbow.

"She just a hard worker, I've got nothing to do with that" Tali said.

"Oh really?" he asked with a smirk.

"Okay, maybe a little" The three had a good laugh, moments later the three went their separate ways. Illium was really beautiful, Kasumi was right when she it was glamorous, however the beauty was shattered when Lia sensed all the stares from the people, it never changed even in a new place, the stares of distrust. Even on her home planet of Terra Nova, she had to deal with the stares there, even though the little settlement near the commune she lived at had seen Quraians all the time. She sighed and went into the store, the store was small and lots of old parts on the shelves. To her left a device caught her eye, a somewhat old model, but thanks to Tali's tutelage she could make it work.

"Uh, excuse me, I would like to buy that device" She said. The store clerk turned around, and old human with glasses. When he saw her, his face twisted in disgust.

"Eight hundred credits" the man said.

Lia blinked. "Eight hundred? But the tag said three hundred"

"Nine hundred"

"What? That's not fair!"

"Keep mouthing back and I'll make it even higher." The man said.

"You bosh'tet racist!"

"Hey if you don't like my prices, then leave suit rat" Just then someone spoke up.

"Hey, is there a problem here?" A man said. Lia looked back and saw a gigantic human. His skin was dark and his face had scars, he had on a dark green shirt that showed off his muscles and tattoos quite nicely. The older man pointed at Lia accusingly.

"This quarian is causing a disturbance in my store"

"You're a liar, all I want to do was buy this device and this bosh'tet ups the price"

"How did it cost?" the large human asked.

"The device was for three hundred and he wants it for nine hundred" Lia said.

The large man frowned and looks at the old man. "Is that true?"

"The suit-rat is lucky I'm even selling to her." The clerk scoffed. Lia fought back the urge wring his neck.

"Let me tell you how this is going to go, pendejo" He said cracking his knuckles. "You sell this girl the device at a fair price and I won't break your legs"

The clerk gulped. "Now, now there's no need for violence, I'm sure we can work this out"

The huge human gave a smirk. "Try me"

"F-fine, that will be one seventy" he said nervously.

After getting her device, she and the big man left much to the relief of the clerk. "You didn't have to do that" The large human just shrugged his shoulders.

"That puta had it coming, I hate assholes, especially if they're assholes to women" He snorted.

Lia blushed. "Well thank you, I should go…you know meet up with some friends" she stammered.

The big man stopped her "Are you doing anything?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Would like to go for drinks?" He asked with a smile.

Lia raised a brow; this was strange human asking her out when they just met. "Do you always pick up random strangers?" she asked.

The man smirked. "Only if they're cute" Lia blushed. The big human held out his hand. "The name's James"

Lia shook his hand. "Lia" James and Lia went to a club on Nos Astra for couple of drinks and talked. While talking she took a look at James, he was cute that was for certain, and at time he seem to be cocky, but he was ultimately a nice person. Just as they continued talking, a song came on. James gave a smile and held out his hand.

"Care to dance?" He asked.

Lia blushed and looked away. "I'm not a very good dancer"

"Neither am I, but fuck what anyone else thinks" he said as he took her hand. They came on to the dance floor. James was right about one thing, he couldn't dance to save his life, not that Lia could complain, as she was just as flat-footed as him.

"I'll have to remember to ask Onee-san to teach me to dance" she muttered. The two kept on dancing until they left the club and went for lunch. James was also something of a gentleman, Lia offered to pay for her own food, but James he declined and insisted to pay for both.

James laughed. "You were right, you can't dance for shit"

Lia blushed. "Like you should talk, you weren't exactly graceful yourself" she said annoyed.

"Ouch, you wound me chica" he said with laugh. They talked, James was an Alliance Soldier, and apparently he was also on vacation. He worked security for a colony in the Terminus, called Fehl Prime. They talked for the rest of the day until it got late, James had offered to walk her back to the terminal. The walk back was strange to say the least, the way Lia and James looked; you would think it was a casual date between lovers even though they had just met.

"This is where I'm supposed to meet my friends" Lia said. She played with fingers. "I guess this it…"

"Yeah, this was fun, I don't think I ever went out on a date with a Quarian before" James said with smile. "You're a fun girl to talk to, here" He got out a piece of paper and scribbled on it, he then handed to Lia

"What's this?"

"My omni-tool's ID number, I want to talk to you again, if you don't mind"

Lia blushed. "N-no not at all, I would like that too" James then went and kissed her hand.

"Until next time, chica" he said with a smile. He walked away with Lia waving.

"Bye…" she said waving.

"Lia? Why are you waving?" Shepherd asked. Lia turned around and saw Shepherd, Tali, Kaiden, and Kasumi all staring at her like she was crazy. Lia blushed and quickly composed herself.

"Oh nothing" she said.

"So did have fun…?" Kasumi asked.

Lia smiled and blushed. "Like you wouldn't believe" Lia walked into the Normandy as Shepherd and the others just looked at each other in confusion.

Later that night, James went back to his hotel. He couldn't stop thinking about Lia, this was probably the most fun date he's ever had. He quickly shook his head, it was just a nice little outing, he offered it to the girl to cheer her up. Though you don't give away your ID number to some girl you were just trying to cheer up. His thoughts were quickly interrupted when his omni-tool beeped.

"She's calling a stooge like me already? I must have left quite the impression" he said with chuckle. He pressed the button, but instead of Lia, it was a tan-skinned man. "Oh, it's you Estaban" he said disappointingly.

"What's with that tone, Vega? Expecting someone?" Cortez asked annoyed.

"Certainly not you"

He gave a shit eating grin. "You were expecting a girl weren't you?"

James blushed. "So what if I was?"

"Little Jimmy all grown up" Cortez teased. James rolled his eyes as he went to the couch. "So who is she?"

"Shouldn't you be annoying Robert?"

"Come on Vega, you can't hide anything from me, childhood friends remember"

"Alright, alright I met this hot Quarian chica today, that's all"

"A Quarian, huh?" He asked with a smirk.

James groaned; he was never going to hear the end of it.

_**Just a preview of what's to come, so how do you like this pairing? Review and Comment.**_


	57. Chapter 49: Dating: Jack Style

**Just like with last chapter, I'm taking a little break from Shepherd's adventure for a bit, but don't worry this little break won't be long, just taking the time to build up some characters, so bear with me and enjoy. As always review and comment.**

**Warning: Smut ahead.**

**Chapter 49: Dating: Jack Style**

Kelly and Jack were just finishing up their little date in Nos Astra. Despite this being their first date ever it started relatively well, until Jack punched out some dude trying to feel up Kelly and Kelly was trying to stop her from killing the guy. Soon the creeps friends joined and a huge brawl soon ensued, good news the thugs didn't stand a chance, the bad news was the fight caused huge damages and injuries, and to make matters worse the Nos Astra security was on their way. They bolted before they arrive, though it took Kelly time to get Jack to run, as she was planning to fight them. As they walked, Jack decided to go a bar that was close to the dock, a drink was just what she needed to keep her from killing someone.

"Why are you coming with me? I told you could go back to the ship" Jack asked annoyed.

"Just wanted to give you company" Kelly said.

They walked through an alleyway, and some unsavory characters were staring at them, especially Kelly. Jack looked back at Kelly. "You sure? This isn't a nice place for princesses like you"

Kelly crossed her arms in mock offence. "I can handle myself, everyone in Cerberus has at least basic training, I'm no different" she said. Jack looked at some of the people who could potently cause a problem and most of them at out weigh the red-head by a hundred pounds.

Jack snorted and reached into her pocket, and gave Kelly a pistol. "Suit yourself; but if you get into trouble, I expect you to use this" Kelly looked at the pistol and looked at Jack, wondering why she had a pistol. "I always have it with me, I ain't stupid, and I don't expect you to be either, got it?"

"Got it" she said with a smile. Jack sighed and rubbed her head as they entered the bar. The place was the biggest crapola she had ever seen. It smelled of booze, cigarette smoke, and vomit with hint of month old piss. Jack took a deep breath and smirked, it was like she was home, Kelly on the other hand made sure not to touch anything without gloves.

"Problems, Princess?"

Kelly huffed. "Of course not"

"Then why the gloves princess?" She asked with an amused smirk. Kelly glared at her.

"Fine, if you can tough it out so can I" she said putting the gloves back in her bag. They then heard some yelling, it was a batarian and a human arguing over what liked a game of poker. The human had the batarian by the collar.

"You cheating me out my money, blink?!" The human yelled.

The batarian pushed him away. "Fuck you, ape, don't blame me because you kind can't count!" The batarian growled. They each got they're pistols out and shot each other dead. The bartender sighed.

"Yo, Benny, more dead weight" A krogan come out and took the corpses out the back to dispose of the bodies and everything went back to normal like nothing had happen. Jack looked at Kelly, she looked a little disturbed by the scene.

"Last chance to back out now…" Jack said.

"I can handle it"

"We'll see…" They sat down at the bar. The bartender turned around to meet Jack and Kelly. A somewhat young man in his mid-thirties, he had red hair, with a scar on his right eye and cheek probably from all the patrons causing trouble.

"What can I get for you two ladies?" he asked.

"Bottle of the hardest liquor you got" she said.

"Um, I guess a martini" Kelly said sheepishly. The bartender laughed loudly. "Did I say something funny?"

"We don't sell anything like that, we sell the hard stuff" he said. "If you want that then go to Eternity, or that new Paradise of the Goddess place that just opened up" Kelly looked at Jack, and she had mocking smirk on her face, with annoyed her to know end.

"Fine, I'll have some liquor" She said.

"Fine liquor on the…"

"No I'll have what she having, from the bottle" The bartender smirk, obviously amused.

"Coming right up" he said. Now that she had the bottle, she all of a sudden didn't feel too brave, she tried to have a drink, but the smell made her gag. Meanwhile, Jack was gulping down the thing like it was water. Jack then looked at her with a smirk on her face.

"Too strong for the princess?"

"N-no of course not…" Kelly said. She took a large swig of the liquor and instantly regretted it. The taste of the liquor was just as strong as the smell. Her face went pale from the taste, as Jack raised a brow watching her.

"Good isn't it princess?" She asked with a smirk. Kelly nodded even though, she knew differently. She fought down the urge to spit it out, if she threw up, Jack would never let her live it down. So she swallowed, it was the hardest and longest second of her life. Tears streamed from her eyes as it went down. Even when she got it down, she still had to fight it from coming up, after some time the feeling went away.

Jack whistled. "You got balls, Chambers; most would throw up on their first drink of that stuff"

Kelly smiled grimly. "Best drink of my life" she lied. She then took a look at two guys playing at the pool table. Her eyes instantly lit up. "Oh wow, pool, I haven't played in so long"

"What you know about playing pool?" Jack asked. Kelly smirked.

"Just watch" She said getting up. Jack groaned and followed her. The two men stopped playing as Kelly approached.

One of them gave a lewd smirk. "Looking for a good time?" he asked. Jack clenched her fist from the look he was giving Kelly.

"You could say that" she said with a smile.

"Well, how about we get out of here?" he asked.

"Well I was looking for a game to play, how about pool?" she asked. The two men looked at each other and gave a huge smirk.

"Well, you know a game is no fun without a cost" he said. "We win, and you and your friend are our for the night"

Jack growled at thought them touching her, but she heard something surprising from the little red-head. "Deal" she said with a smile. "But what do we get if we win?"

"One hundred credits"

"I'm sure you have more than that" she said. "How about if we win, we get all your credits, it's only fair" The men looked at each other. "Think about it, you get to keep your money and have two beautiful girls for tonight"

Jack was going to say something, but the two guys spoke up. "Deal"

Kelly smirked. "Hook, line and sinker…" she muttered. Jack pulled Kelly to the side.

"You better be good at this" She growled.

"Do you trust me?" Kelly asked.

Jack smirked a little at woman's boldness "I don't really have a choice now do I?" Kelly smirked and the game started Jack and Kelly was solid and the two men were stripes, the guys were good Kelly had admit, and so was Jack, however when Kelly turn came, the men laughed expecting an easy win. That changed real quickly, once Kelly showed her skills, much to the surprise of Jack and the two men, she knocked every single solid ball in until table was only striped balls and the eight ball for the win on their side. Before sinking the eight ball, Kelly spoke up. "Before I win, how much money do you have between you?"

"T-two thousand…"

She smirked. "We expect to be paid in full" she said as she knocked the eight ball in. The game was won, and the girls walked away with a thousand credits a piece. That night, the two walked back to the Normandy.

"Holy shit that was awesome, where did you learn to play like that?" Jack asked.

"My dad, he thought me how to play when I was a little girl" she said.

"Yeah, but where did you learn to pimp someone like that?"

Kelly smiled. "Let's just say, there's more than one way to use those Psychology degrees" she said.

Jack smirked. "Well, damn you may not be such princess after all" she said. "And here I thought, this date thing was going to be a bust"

"And the best part is, it's not over yet" Kelly smirked. She then whispered in her ear. "I thought we could finish this in your bed" Jack looked at her with surprised, this was not the same girl on the Normandy, being with the convict awakened something in her. It was turning Jack on.

"You do know I'm a convict, right?"

"Maybe I'm just attracted to bad girls" She said with a smirk. She came in and kissed Jack on the lips, but Jack pulled away. "What's wrong?"

"I've been down on this path before and I always got screwed in the end" she said. "I…I need to know…to know that I'm not just some throw away fling, that I'm not being used"

Kelly came up and hugged her. "You're not, my feelings for you are real, and do you know why I fell in love with you in the first place?"

Jack snorted. "'Cause you're a crazy bitch with a death wish?"

"Because you're the strongest person I know, you could have been broken with every bad event you had, but you didn't" she said. "You are stronger than I can ever hope to be"

"And yet, you're the one giving the crazy criminal a chance…"

"If I cared about that, then I wouldn't do this" Kelly gave Jack a passionate kiss. "So I guess, I'm a little crazy too." Jack blushed and then smirked.

"Of all the people to hook with, it had to be the most sickenly sweet person on the ship, but I guess it's not so bad" They went back to the Normandy, and to Jack's quarters where Jack started to strip off Kelly's dress and suck on her nipples as Kelly moaned. Kelly pushed her down on the pad and took off her pants and thong. She licked her clit.

"Fuck, right there" Jack moaned. They kissed hungrily; Jack nuzzled the side of Kelly neck, and made her giggle a little. She then went down to her shorts and peeled them off.

"Jack…" Kelly moaned as she went down and licked up and down her leg. Jack had to admit, Kelly smelled good, lot better than some of the stands she had in the past. "Yes…. Eat me… please." She moaned. Jack buried her head between Kelly's legs; she started light, tongue probing around the folds of the red-head's lady-hood as she teased the slit with one finger. Kelly moans grew louder as she moved up to Kelly's clit and flicked licks across it as she began to work her finger inside. She looked up at her, and pushed her back. "My turn"

Kelly went up to her breasts and massaged it, making Jack moan, she continued as she then pressed her thumbs against the ex-con's nipples. Slowly, with firm pressure, her slender digits began to rub circles around them. "Damn, Red…" Kelly lifted up Jack's leg and crossed her leg with her as their clits rubbed against each other. After minutes they both exploded in moans of pleasure, as they released. Kelly smiled and kissed Jack deeply.

After doing the deed, Kelly went soundly to sleep in Jack's arms as Jack looked her. "You're kinda cute went you're sleeping" she said brushing Kelly's hair with her hand. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking about her past, as pirate, a criminal, a thug. She started to wonder how her life turned out if she met Shepherd and Kelly earlier. Despite the fact that most of crew drove her crazy, she knew that when push came to shove, she would help them, even die for them even the cheerleader. She then looked back at the sleeping Kelly beside her, and kissed her on the forehead.

They were her friends, her family, and for the first time in a long time it felt good, it felt right.


	58. Chapter 50: Return of the Verner

**Chapter 50: The Return of the Verner**

Shepherd and Tali was walking through Nos Astra, hand in hand, just finishing their date, they were going to the Eternity to spend time together. The date turned out better than they thought, especially when Shepherd actually offer his hand to dance, which surprised the quarian, usually ahe had to prod to get him to the dance floor. And to her surprise, Shepherd was…good, better than good, they were the highlight of the dance club. Tali smiled. "I still can't believe it…" she said. "You actually learned how to dance, what was that humans saying? Hell has frozen over"

Shepherd smirked. "It helps when you have a cousin that's such good dancer"

"I'll have to thank Kasumi then" She said. The couple got to Eternity; as usual it was busy, but not busy enough to be full. They had gotten a seat in the back when an asari came up to get their orders, she then started to flirt with the spectre which made Tali's blood boil.

"What will you have handsome?" The asari asked. She put her hand on Shepherd's arm.

"Uh just a sprite" Shepherd said pulling his arm away. The asari then looked at the quarian and the friendly smile she had, instantly went away replaced with cold indifference.

"And you?"

"You to get away from my boyfriend" Tali said curtly. The asari looked at Shepherd and then Tali, she then laughed which made Tali narrow her eyes at the woman.

"That's funny, you're funny, but really what will you have?" she said. Tali then grabbed the asari's collar and pulled her close to her helmet. The asari looked at her with a mixture of surprise and fear.

"I wasn't joking…" Tali said coldly. The asari looked at Shepherd, who had an amused look on his face.

"The lady's right, want to try that order again…the right way?" Shepherd asked with a smirk.

"W…what would you l..like to drink?" The asari said in fear. Tali let go of her collar and composed herself.

"Sterilized turian wine" Tali said calmly. The asari wrote both orders down and bolted away. Shepherd laughed hard as he saw the woman almost bump into a table trying to get away.

"Best date ever" he said with a laugh. Tali also laughed also, the quarian also had to admit it was kind of fun scaring people, she could see why Shepherd does all the time. She sighed as she looked at the couple next them, so happy, so blissful, and not on a suicide mission. She wished it could be like that all the time, but the reapers would have other plans. Her shoulder lowered when she thought about the coming mission, even if they survived their mission, they would still deal with reapers and with no one believing them, the coming war seemed hopeless. She felt a hand on hers, and saw Shepherd looking at her concerned.

"What's wrong, rookie?"

"Just wondering how long until we get to do this again" She said. Tali then lowered her head. "If we can do this again…"

Shepherd kissed her hand. "We'll get through this, together" he said. "We got through Saren and Sovereign"

"At a cost, Wayne, we lost Ash, and we damn near lost you too." She said sadly. "Even if we survive the mission, there are still the reapers…It just feels like…." Shepherd interrupted her with a kiss.

"Hey we'll come to that bridge when we cross it, this is our moment and I'm not going to let the mission or the reapers ruin this for us" he said. He squeezed her hand gently to reassure her, but he it was also to reassure himself too, as he was having some of the same thoughts. "We'll win this…Tali, like I always said, you're never lose me, and I always keep my promises"

Tali smiled and hugged him. "You always know the right thing to say"

"Hey it's part of my charm" he said. The asari waitress soon came with their drinks, and just as quickly left, not wanting to make the scary quarian angry. It felt good to relax for once and not have to worry about the fate of the galaxy, as they relaxed, they then heard an asari and human argue.

"I know you sell it, so why don't you give up the lease and turn yourself in" he said

The asari sighed and rubbed her forehead. Dealing with the idiot human was also making her biotics flare a little, she just one second away from blasting his ass into cosmic dust. But the human didn't the hint; he was as suicidal as he was persistent, nevertheless she tried to keep her temper at bay. Not because she was worried for his safety, but because if she did blast him, that would damage the bar and the damages would come out her pay which was modest at best. "I keep tell you, I don't sell it, so why don't you do yourself a favor and leave, before I throw you out."

"You think you take on the apprentice of Commander Wayne Allen Shepherd." Shepherd spit out his drink went he heard his name, and coughed. He looked back and glared at the man, he soon got up, only to have Tali put her hand on his.

"Wayne, please calm down" Tali said.

"Some idiot is using my name for his own stupid purposes" Shepherd growled. "I'm not letting this jack-off get away with it."

Tali sighed, once Shepherd got an idea into his head, talking him down was almost impossible. Tali got up from her chair. "Fine, but I'm coming with you"

"You don't have to come"

"No, I don't, but someone has to make sure you stay out jail" She said. "We do need you" Shepherd rolled his eyes and went up to meet the guy. The human was blonde in black armor that looked familiar, he continued to antagonize the asari, Shepherd started to see that the asari was starting to lose her patience, as the faint glimmers of blue was becoming more intense, the other patrons of at the bar started to move away nervously. It was no surprise the asari was at least a matriarch, and a biotic blast from her would be messy.

"You really holding out on me?" he asked. "Get me the lease now"

"Or what?"

"You want to see how far I'll go? I learned to shove a gun in people's faces from…"

"Hey asswipe!" Shepherd said.

"Look, sir this has nothing to do with you" The man's head turned and his eyes went wide.

"Like hell, it does!" he growled. "You using my name, for something stupid, it stops now!" Usually when Shepherd got mad, people pissed their pants, but this guy's eye lit up, when he saw Shepherd.

"Commander Shepherd?" The asari spoke up.

"Hey, if you're that Shepherd guy, could you rein this idiot in, before slap his ass with a singularity"

"Hey, I got nothing to do with idiot" The man then spoke up.

"Don't you remember me?" he asked excitedly. Tali looked at the man, he looked awfully familiar, she noticed what he was wearing, a green N7 armor that Shepherd wore which instantly rebooted her memory.

"I don't know should I?" Shepherd asked.

"It's me, Conrad Verner" Shepherd raised his brow, until Tali tugged on his shirt.

"We met him on the Citadel remember on our date, two years ago" she said. Shepherd tried to remember.

_**Two Years Ago**_

_Verner smiled. "Of course, Shepherd's awesome" he said wrapping his arm around Shepherd._

_"Yeah….I know I am, but how about some personal space, dude" Shepherd said breaking away Verner. Shepherd didn't know what to think about Verner, he was an idiot, yes, but there was something about him that crept the spectre off. Verner then looked at Shepherd with those star-struck eyes again._

_"Oh sorry, I know you're busy, but do you have time for an autograph" Verner said excitedly. He raised his arm._

_"Anything for a fan, I guess" Shepherd said._

_"Thanks, my wife will be so impressed." He said. Shepherd raised a brow. 'You have a wife? I guess there really is someone for everyone in the galaxy' He gave his autograph and Verner walked away, or rather skipped away like schoolgirl who just met her favorite pop star. Shepherd shook his head as Tali tried hard to stifle a giggle._

_"Aw, you have a fan" Tali said with her head leaning into Shepherd's shoulder._

_Shepherd rubbed his neck. "Yeah, but do they have to so damn creepy?" Tali giggled. Shepherd looked at her. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked._

_"Maybe a little" she said._

_"Are you hungry?" Shepherd asked. Tali nodded. "Alright, let's get out of here" Little did they know they were about to be joined by a blonde haired stalker. The couple went up to the presidium to a levo/dextro restaurant, this time the people stared at the couple, Shepherd gave them a scary look and the patrons minded their business._

_"Sorry, Wayne" Tali said looking down. Shepherd kissed her._

_"Hey, no problem, I don't care about them, they can bite me for all I care" he said. Tali smiled._

_"Quite the romantic, aren't you?" Tali joked. Shepherd chuckled._

_"Anything for my girl" he said. As they sat down to eat, Shepherd noticed something at the seat behind them. Shepherd narrowed his eyes._

_"What's wrong?" Tali asked. Shepherd looked at her._

_"I may be going crazy, but I could have sworn we're being watched." Shepherd said._

_"Maybe, you're seeing something?" Tali asked. Shepherd noticed the guy had blond hair._

_"I don't think so" he said. Shepherd lifted the man in a lift field and walked towards the man. "Verner?"_

_The man gave a meek wave. "Hi" he said. Shepherd dropped him and Verner got up, now facing a very annoyed Shepherd and Tali._

_"Have you been following us?" Tali asked. "And no lying"_

_Verner rubbed his neck. "Yeah" he said._

_Shepherd crossed his arms. "Why?" he said annoyed._

_"Well funny story, I called my wife to tell her I got you autograph and…" Verner started._

_"She didn't believe you, so what do you want a picture?" Shepherd asked. Verner's eyes lit up._

_"Can you?" he asked. 'Shit' he cursed. Shepherd sighed._

_"If do this, will you leave me in peace? I don't know if you noticed, but I am on a date" he said._

_"Yeah, yeah, scout's honor" Verner said._

_"Do you have a camera?" Shepherd asked. Verner gets a camera out. "Of course…" Verner gave Tali the camera, as Verner came uncomfortably close to Shepherd. The spectre prayed that this would be quick. It took a while for Tali get a handle on the human camera, but with Verner coaching her through it, Tali was able to take the picture._

_"Thanks, do you want a copy?" he asked._

_"No I rather not remember this" he said. Verner waved goodbye and left the couple in peace to eat. The couple decided to go the club, again not knowing they were being followed….again. Once they made it to the club, and saw people dancing on the floor, Shepherd was starting to regret this._

_"Why did you drag me here? You know can't dance worth shit" Shepherd said annoyed._

_Tali smiled. "Think of it you getting some practice" she said._

_Shepherd rolled his eyes. "Like I need more practice on flopping around like a beached whale on a hot day" he said grimly._

_Tali tilted her head. "Whale?" she asked._

_Shepherd palmed his face. "Never mind let's just dance" he said. The couple danced for a while until they saw Ash, Kaiden, Liara, and Garrus. The four was having a blast laughing at their Commander's rather poor dancing skills, much to Shepherd's annoyance._

_"Hey guys" Tali said._

_"Hey Tali, Skipper how's your date been?" Ash asked. Shepherd sighed._

_"I would have been fine, if it wasn't for my stalker" he said annoyed._

_Kaiden looked at him. "You have a stalker?" he asked._

_"Unfortunately" Shepherd said. He then felt a tug from Tali. "What is it rookie?"_

_"I don't think brush with fame is over, that pribadi is back" she said. Shepherd looked at her._

_"You're kidding?" he asked. Tali shook her head._

_"No, in fact he's coming this way." She said. Shepherd palmed his face._

_"Need some help?" Garrus asked._

_"Please? I think I'm at the end of my rope with this guy." He said. Verner came over to the team, or rather danced over to them. And on that point he danced rather poorly, in fact Shepherd couldn't help notice, he danced almost like him._

_"Hi Shepherd" Verner greeted._

_"Hey, Verner" Shepherd said deadpan. "What you want this time?"_

_"Me? I would never-"Verner started._

_"Don't even try it, dumbass" Ash said. "What do you want?"_

_"Well, I wonder if you could sign me up for the spectres" he said._

_"You a spectre?" Kaiden said barely stifling a laugh. "What skill do you have?"_

_"Uh…" Verner said. Kaiden shook his head._

_"I thought so" Kaiden said._

_"Not going to happen" Shepherd said._

_"But-" Verner said. Shepherd sighed._

_"I didn't want to do this…" Shepherd said taking out his gun._

"_What are you…?" Verner asked. Shepherd aimed his gun at his foot and pulled the trigger. "Ahh!" Verner was on the floor holding his foot._

_"See? You don't have what it takes, if I was shot in foot, I would still be able to fight, you can't" Shepherd said. "Understood?" Verner nodded. "Good now get out of here" Verner got up and limped out of the club._

_"You sure that was good idea?" Tali asked._

_"Probably not, but at this point I don't care" Shepherd said. _

_**Now**_

Shepherd's eye started to twitch. "Mother…" he grumbled. "Yeah I remember…"

"Yeah when you shoved that gun in my face, you showed me what it meant to live truly extreme, it was a lesson well learned"

"Actually, he shot you, because you wouldn't leave him alone…." Tali muttered.

Verner gave a smug smile as he walked around like a tough guy, much to Shepherd's annoyance. "So you're alive, I knew those news stories were wrong, you should never trust the media" he said. "We'll since you're back, why don't you sit back and watch how it's done? I've got some asses to kick."

Shepherd sighed and pulled out his gun. "Verner, let me be absolutely clear…" he shot his foot. "This is not acceptable"

Verner screamed and fell to the floor holding his foot, causing a scene in the bar as the patrons looked to see what was happening. "Ahhh! My foot! You shot my foot again! Ahh!" Tali had to had to admit, she almost felt sorry for the moronic human…almost.

The asari palmed her face. "Get off the fucking floor, you idiot, it barely grazed you" she said annoyed. Verner blinked and checked his foot to see it wasn't even bleeding, Shepherd shot to the left of his foot and missed on purpose, though the spectre was tempted shoot his other foot. The blonde got off the floor, much calmer.

"It still scared me; I'm still new at the whole bad ass mercenary thing. People don't usually shoot me"

"And yet you lived this long" Shepherd said annoyed. "By the way, why are you wearing N7 armor? Anyone from the program would know you're not a member"

Verner gave a big smile. "They make pretty convincing replicas these days if you're willing to pay"

"I bet your wife weren't too happy about this" Tali said.

"Actually my wife was pretty supportive, she even paid for my ticket off world" Verner said with glee.

"Keelah, I wonder why?" she asked sarcastically. "Do you even have a job?"

"Of course, I talk to people and ask them they have problem that only I can solve"

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "And how that been going?"

Verner rubbed the back of his neck. "Problems are a lot less common that I thought" he said sheepishly. "But you'll see, they'll be lining up soon"

"Uh-huh…" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"This place was a front for a red sand dealer; I need to take it over to crack the ring"

"You dumbass, one we don't sell red sand, and two red sand is legal on Illium, you just need a license"

"Who gave this information?" Tali asked.

"The owner of that kiosk near the carport! She's an undercover cop"

Shepherd palmed his face and groaned, he just couldn't believe the gullibility of this fool. "And you believed her, great" he said. "I go and talk to her, get to the bottom of this"

"Thank you, if I kill annoying customers, it usually causes property damage, that comes out of my pay"

"No problem" Shepherd said. He then looked at Verner. "As for you…"

Verner's eyes lit up. "Yes?"

He sighed. "Stay here and,,,,uh watch for anything off"

Verner saluted. "Yes sir!"

Shepherd shook his head. "Let's go rookie" They walked away, Tali looked at him with crossed arms.

"Mind telling me why we're helping that bosh'tet?" She asked annoyed. Shepherd understood what she meant, it would be so easy to let Verner embarrass himself but his damn sense honor let him intervene. Sometimes he cursed his pity.

"Because dealing with Verner is fate worse than death and no one deserves that" Shepherd said annoyed. Shepherd and Tali went to the carport to speak to the 'officer'. Shepherd palmed his face; the officer wasn't an officer at all but an asari weapons merchant pretending to be an undercover cop. Shepherd sighed, how anyone could confuse a clerk with a cop, even an undercover one, was beyond him.

"Ah can I help you?"

"I talked to an old…acquaintance, Conrad Verner, about the red sand." Shepherd said.

The asari smiled. "Oh you're Conrad's friend. Yes that place is really dangerous. I should know I'm an undercover cop" she said. "Did you get me the deed to the bar, I need the deed to…uh stop the red sand dealer"

Tali shook her head; the asari was an amazingly bad liar also. "Pribadi bosh'tet…" she muttered.

Shepherd smiled. "I soften up the bartender, you just need to seal the deal" he said. Tali looked at him, she was wondering where he was going with this.

"Really? Are sure?"

"Absolutely, just go in and be tough" he said. "Just tell them, you're with me and they'll hand over the deed"

The asari smiled. "Well, that's great, thanks for the help." She said walking away.

"Why would say that?" Tali asked.

Shepherd smiled. "You'll see" They went back to the Eternity lounge. When they got back, they saw the asari surrounded by the bar owner and the authorities, the young asari looked nervous. Apparently she was on camera and security present at the bar following Conrad's botched attempt. As she was being hauled off to jail, she spoke up.

"I was misled; I was told that you agreed to sale"

"What? Who told you that?"

The asari pointed at Shepherd. "He did"

"I have no idea what she's talking about, never met her before" Shepherd said. "Right Tali?"

"Right"

The asari paled. "What?! But…"

"Take her away before my bartender throws her out" The cops took the con-artist away. Verner approached Shepherd and Tali looking confused.

"What happened? The undercover cop just got arrested"

"You bosh'tet that wasn't…." Shepherd put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"She wasn't a cop, she was deep cover operative from a terrorist cell, I would have never found her if it wasn't for you"

Verner's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really, you did a good job, Verner now please go home, I'm sure you want tell your wife everything"

"Yes, of course, she won't believe this" he said in glee walking away.

"On that we can agree" Shepherd said. Tali was about speak up, but Shepherd raised his hand. "I know what you're going to say, but save it, I'm tired"

Tali smirked. "Poor baby, you want me to make it better?" she asked in a sultry voice.

Shepherd smiled and kissed. "If you don't mind…."

Tali took Shepherd's hand and led him back to the Normandy.

_**Pribadi: idiot**_


	59. Chapter 51: The Gift of Greatness pt1

**Chapter 51: The Gift of Greatness pt.1**

Jacob was in the Armory cleaning and maintaining the weapons on the Normandy. After the four-day shore leave on Illium, it was time to get back to the daily grind, everyone was busy getting ready for the mission on the Derelict Reaper, and Jacob was no different. He then heard the door of the Normandy, it was Miranda. She smiled as he kissed him on the lips.

"Hey Miri" he said.

"You busy tonight?" she asked.

Jacob looked at the weapons and sighed, he was done with only a quarter of the weapons, it going to be a long night. "Looks like it, we've picked up lots of weapons lately" he said. "Shepherd is such a pack rat; I don't see how Tali put up with him"

Miranda chuckled. "I don't think Tali can talk, have you seen the desk in their room, she just as bad" They both laughed and Miranda kissed him. "Well don't wear yourself out, I still need you tonight"

"You want the prize that badly?" he asked with a smirk.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Really? You're still using that old line?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Well, only because you're cute" as they were talking, Jacob's omni-tool beeped. When he opened, his eye grew wide. "Jacob?"

He looked at her. "Miri, my father…my father's been found"

"I'll get Shepherd" Miranda said walking out. As she walked to Shepherd's room, she held a sad look on her face. Shepherd met with Jacob.

"What's up? Miranda sounded worried" Shepherd said. Jacob was pacing the room. "Jacob"

"Commander?"

"You okay?" Shepherd asked.

"Sorry, just a little distracted, it won't affect my duties" he said.

"It would help, if you told me what's wrong"

"You remember the family drama on Illium we had with my brother and Miranda's sister?" Jacob asked. "Well, it looks like there might be more"

"Stop dancing around and just tell me"

Jacob sighed and sat down on the table. "Look I don't want to waste our time, if it's just a wild goose chase, but…I got pinged by what was supposed to be a ghost, my father" he said. "He was the first officer on a ship that went missing ten years ago"

Shepherd frowned, ten years and the beacon just so happen to activate now, something wasn't right. "And you found your father just like that?" he asked. "Something's off"

"I know, it can't be the automatic distress, it's been too long" Jacob said. "But if there's even a chance…I got to take it, he's the only family I got left"

"Okay, give me the coordinates, I'll find it"

"Thank you Shepherd, I own you one"

"No problem, but I do have one question, when your brother comes up, what will you say?"

Jacob looked away. "I tell him the truth, it's the only thing I can do" he said sadly.

_Named after an asari scientist, this remote planet appears to have been on the list of forbidden mass relays that led to uncharted space. The little data available comes from one far-off probe that reports two planets orbiting a white dwarf star. Your own scans yield far more interesting results. The planet is within the habitable zone of the star. It has oceans of liquid water and a thin nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere consistent with carbon-based plant life. It is possible this is an as-yet-unexplored garden world. Humans detected Aeia as an Earth-type world via telemetry in 2165. After probe surveys indicated life – lush vegetation, ample fresh water and breathable air – the Alliance upgraded the planet to a garden-world colonization priority.-Codex_

The shuttle came into the atmosphere and made landfall. Shepherd, Miranda, and Jacob came out of the shuttle facing the remains of the Hugo Gernsback. Aeia was beautiful planet, full of rich forests and deep blue oceans, not a bad place to be stranded. Miranda and Jacob however didn't feel the same way as they looked at the fallen ship solemnly. Jacob remembered the stories his dad told while on the Gernsback, he used to love them, it back when their mom was alive and they were family. He remembered his mother shaking her head at some of the stories, all the while keeping a large grin on her face. But then after she died was when the stories stopped, and then the trips with the Gernsback became longer, until their grandmother came and took care of them.

"There it is…" Jacob said. "I remember the stories he used tell us when we were kids"

"Yeah, Niket and I would always roll our eyes, your dad always loved to stretch his stories" Miranda said. "And you always believed it, even while we teased you about it"

Jacob chuckled sadly. "It was so much simple back then, I miss it"

Miranda grabbed his hand. "I know I do too" EDI spoke up.

"I have run a scan of the ship. I detect no life signs"

"We don't know that, they could've survived impact"

"It has been years, Jacob, but we won't know until we find out" Shepherd said. They investigated the ruined ship. The once proud ship was now victim of Nature's fury, rusted from the salty ocean and rain, covered by vines. They looked inside and saw skeletons where uniforms, some were impaled by the debris, and others died from burns, likely from the explosion across the ship. They were some logs from the crew, some either didn't make sense or was damage beyond repair, the tech was useless from the crash but there were some parts of the ship that looked like it was hollowed out…some of the crew must have survived. Jacob looked relieved, maybe there was hope.

"It looks like it was stripped after the crash. They would have try to get a beacon up as soon as possible" Jacob said.

"This is a good sign, they may be alive"

"Yeah, but why take so long? A beacon is not hard to activate" Shepherd said.

"It could have been damaged during the crash" Miranda said. She turned her gaze to Jacob, he was activating a log book, unlike the others it looked like it was mostly undamaged, though looks could be deceiving. "Anything useful?"

"Yeah, if I can get to work" he said tinkering with the log. "I think I got it" There was static at first, but then a voice…a man's voice and it sounded upset.

"…along with this anymore. We've done horrible things to the crew, the condition they're in, and they don't know understand what we're doing to them"

Miranda frowned. "That's not good; it sounds more like they were dealing with animals than people"

Jacob shook his head. "What the hell happened?" They then heard Shepherd call them; in front of him was a damaged VI terminal. Shepherd pressed a few buttons and the terminal's avatar came out, though it was flickering from the worn tech. Shepherd gave it a few more adjustments and the image and voice was stable.

"Toxicology Alert: Danger of rapid neural decay, local flora incompatible with human physiology"

"What does that mean?"

"Only one way to find out" Shepherd pressed the button. "This beacon has been here awhile. Why wait so long to signal?"

"Pause in beacon protocol, eight years, two hundred thirty-seven days, and seven hours. Pause is recorded as: RECORD DELETED by acting captain Ronald Taylor"

Jacob frowned. "That's not right, my dad was first officer" he said. "What happened to make this change?"

"First officer Taylor was promoted after the death of Captain Harris Fairchild under emergency protocols" The VI said. "Other flagged issues: Unsafe deceleration. Local food and neural. Beacon activation protocols"

"It was activated just two years ago?" Miranda asked. "Why?"

"The emergency beacon became active after three hundred fifty-eight days, twelve hours after the unscheduled suborbital decent of the Hugo Gernsback"

"You said something about neural decay, what does that mean?" Jacob asked.

"Impairment of mental functions due to chemical imbalance begins within seven days of ingesting local flora, regardless of preparation" the VI said. "Impact of higher cognitive abilities and long-term memories is gradual, significant within a standard month"

"Is it permanent?" Shepherd asked.

"Unknown, data collection was not completed"

"Are there any survivors?" Jacob asked.

"Unknown, this beacon has been unattended for several cycles"

Shepherd sighed. "Yeah that's helpful, let's look around some more"

"My father had a working beacon and didn't signal until now" Jacob said. "Maybe…the neural decay affected him"

"Avoiding it for a decade seems…unlikely."

They move on and eventually come across a female survivor, she looked frantic. Her clothes were in tatters, her hair was a mess and her body was full of cuts and bruises. There were dark circles under her eyes, like she haven't slept in a while. Her eyes shifted from left and right scanning the team, until something clicked in her head and her eyes lit up. "You came? From the sky? The leader said someone would come! He delayed for so long, but he still has power" The team approached slowly.

"Easy everyone, we don't know what she's capable of"

"Leader? You mean Captain Taylor?" Jacob asked.

"I…can't think. The leader thinks for us and we serve…so we can go home. But they fight him, so they were cast out" the woman said. "He exiled them, so they hunt his machines and those who help him. They did not believe help would come"

"A mutiny…" Miranda gasped.

"Who is trying to hurt the leader?" Shepherd asked. He then notices something moving behind her in the forest, at first he thought it was an animal until he saw the glint of a gun. "Watch out!" He pushes the woman out the way, with the bullet barely missing him. A group of men came out of the bushes, a lot of them had on uniforms like the woman also in tatters, others had no shirt on, but all of them were armed to the teeth. Luckily for the team their weapons seemed to be worn and outdated.

"Hunters, they won't stop until the leader is dead"

"Kill them! All agents of the liar will die! He will not escape!" One of them growled.

"Great…" Shepherd muttered.

Miranda and Jacob ran to cover, as the hunters took aim at them. Jacob used his pull, while Shepherd used his singularity to lift hunter off their feet, Miranda then blew them away with her warp field. As the team killed more of them, more came and took their places, they had numbers, but they fought like wild varren, than people. Tactics went out the window for the hunters as they were all trying to get close, not even bothering with cover. Some of the new hunters came at them with sticks or make shift spears, that weren't even going to make a dent in their shields and armor. Shepherd took out his arch projector and aimed at the leader of the group. The current of electricity flowed through the leader and went out frying the other hunters in its path. With the leader killed, many of them ran away, with Jacob and Miranda killing the stragglers.

"You all right?" Shepherd asked as he approached the woman.

"You killed them…" she said in awe. "There are more every day, they want to fight, but I want to go home"

"We've lost her; we need to find someone who can make sense of this" Jacob said. He looked at Miranda. "Miri, what is it?"

She looked the dead hunters. "This wasn't neural decay, they went feral"

"My father wouldn't let this go on"

Miranda shook her head. "You're right, I'm sorry" Jacob walked away.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Shepherd asked.

"I don't know what to believe, but for Jacob I have too" She said catching up with Jacob.

"I hope you're right…"


	60. Chapter 52: The Gift of Greatness pt2

**Chapter 52: Gift of Greatness pt.2**

Shepherd and team explored more of the planet searching for clues on Jacob's missing father, as they walked along the beach, they spotted a couple of destroyed mechs. Jacob examined the ruined mechs. "Stripped for parts, the techs wearing out. The hunters are laying on the pressure"

"This may have gone on for a while" Miranda said. Shepherd spoke up.

"Look, a settlement" Miranda and Jacob looked ahead and saw what looked like a gate with people walking around. More survivors, but were they in their right mind was the question.

Jacob frowned. "They better be friendlier than the beach group. I need answers" They set off for the encampment, careful just in case they were hostile. Upon arriving, they noticed the whole encampment was female. They expected a fight, but surprised there was none, instead the women came up to them, looking more curious as they examined the team.

"Clearly docile, but at the same time something's off" Miranda said. She then noticed the clothes they were wearing; it was the same uniforms as the woman they met and the hunters. Their uniforms were in tatters too, but unlike the hunters, they weren't worn, it was like they were ripped forcefully.

"All female, but no men, could it affect genders differently, make males more violent?" Shepherd asked.

"The woman did say the exiled ones came back as hunters"

Jacob shook his head. "Doesn't matter now, one of these people should know what my father has to do about this" The came near Jacob and after they get a good look at him, they screamed. Jacob looked at them in shock, and the women looked at him with a mix of fear and anger, some them actually hissed at him. Shepherd and Miranda got ready for when it turned violent.

"You….you have his face! He promised the sky, he lies!" one of them said.

"What….?"

"He forces us to eat, to…decay. You are cursed with his face!" another said with venom. Shepherd looked at Jacob, who was still trying to process what just happened.

"Something you said?" he asked.

"What are you talking about? What is happening here?" Jacob asked. The women moved away from him.

"You're a bad man, stay away!"

Miranda put her hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Jacob, we're not going to find anything here" she said softly.

Jacob sighed. "Right…" he said sadly. He shook his head. "They said I shared his face and he made them decay. I don't get it, why would my father force his crew to eat toxic food?"

"One way to find out" They searched the camp, looking for more clues. They found a cart full of food, the smell made them gag; Jacob came closer to the food, trying not to gag from the smell, there was nothing left but mold, and the mold was budding, getting ready to reproduce. It was here for a while.

"Spoiled food stores, who knows how long they've eaten this" They then looked at the strange monument, as Jacob clenched his fist, more and more the truth was coming out, and he didn't like this.

"What is that? I don't see a use for this thing" Shepherd said.

"That's because there is no use, it's a….idol" Miranda said. It was making Miranda uncomfortable.

"What the hell? He would have to push them to make that, it's borderline…worship" Jacob growled. "This stops now" Shepherd and Miranda nodded. They moved deeper into the encampment, until they heard the sound of gun fire. The women then screamed, and scattered into their tents.

"The White ones, they come!" one of them said.

"The White ones?" Miranda asked. Another shot rang out.

"Get to cover" Shepherd ordered. They moved to the crates to use as cover and saw were attacked by LOKI mechs. They came from the path ahead and the forest, mechs looked aged and weather worn, but was kept moderate condition.

"Your captain demand obedience. Weapons are forbidden"

"Screw you" Jacob growled as he pulled the mechs and blasted their heads off with his shotgun. Shepherd froze to of the mechs, giving Miranda a chance to them down shattering them. More mechs came out of the forest to the side of them. The team changed cover; Miranda overloaded the mech and made them explode. Some of the mech tried to fire, but their faulty systems were hindering them. Shepherd summoned a singularity field, and threw a warp field shutting them down. The battle was over.

"Patrols like that are bit much for such a little group" Miranda said.

"That's no patrol, that was to keep control, through fear" Jacob said. "But that would make them hate him…"

"This is no camp, this is a dictatorship" Shepherd said. They then heard rustling in the bushes, the squad got there weapon's ready. A dark-skinned woman came out with her hands up, another one from the camps, but unlike the others she looked rational;l the decay hadn't affected her as much.

"Please. Wait. You could end it"

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked.

She gave Jacob a datapad. "Here, I forget to…read, but this…was the start. What he promised what…he did to us" Jacob read the datapad, as he read Shepherd and Miranda heard a low growl from him, surprising them.

"Well Jacob?"

"It's a crew logbook. Some of them thought the beacon was taking too long, they were afraid they'd run out of supplies and lose their minds to the decay"

"Disagreement among crewmembers that was bound to happen at some point" Miranda said.

"There's more, my father restricted food for himself and the other officers, so they wouldn't be affected. Everyone else had to eat the toxic food and hope for treatment later. He continued. He frowned. "The rest is a casualty list, a few mutinied over the decision, and my father and the officers turned the mechs on them"

"If you have to control your people through violence and fear, you've failed as a leader" Shepherd said.

"It didn't stop there, there were more incidents, harsher punishments" Jacob said. "It was even worse for the female crewmembers; they were assigned to officers like they're pets or toys" Jacob looked at Miranda, she had a look of anger and disappointment in her eyes, even though it wasn't directed at him, it was still hard to look her in the eye. "Within a year, the male crew was flagged as exiled or dead" he said. "And after the beacon was fixed, the officer appeared in the casualties, too! After! My father took control and didn't stop it"

"Jacob…" Miranda said.

"Damn it….what he allowed here…there is no justification" he said. "I need to confront this man"

The woman's eyes lit up. "You'll stop him? I knew….I could trust you" The woman said. "Please bring us the sky…we need the sky"

Jacob nodded. "You'll be home soon" They team pressed deeper into the encampment, as they walked through they heard the coms.

"This is Captain Ronald Taylor, thank god you're here, my crew went insane. I only just got free" Shepherd and Miranda looked back at Jacob.

He frowned. "It's him…after all these years, just got free? He's covering his ass"

"Jacob, keep your mind on the mission"

"Won't be a problem, Commander" Jacob said. They moved over to the dead bodies, some were old, naked and worn to the bone, other were more recent as they still had their uniforms on.

"The old corpses have been posed, like a warning. The new ones were left were they fell"

"The hunter fought back, so the whole hunter thing was recent" The LOKI mechs attacked the squad, and they went into cover.

"Careful. I automated the defenses after my crew turned violent. I had no choice"

"Bullshit there's always a choice" Jacob growled. "To think me and Niket looked up to this man"

Shepherd overloaded the mechs, while Jacob pulled them only for Miranda to blast them away with a warp field. The team continued to fight through more and hordes of LOKI mechs, destroying them as they got closer to where Jacob's father was. "I had to keep them busy, distracted, but it's getting dangerous. Thank god you've come"

"No remorse what so ever…" Miranda said.

"That son of a bitch…."

"Focus you two, we close to his compound" Shepherd said. Before they could get close, more LOKI mechs came from the compound, this time they were reinforced by FENIR mech. The dog-like mech tried to flank what little cover the team had. Shepherd used his throw field to keep them at bay; however he was wide open for the LOKI mechs. They shot at him, though it didn't do much thanks to the spectre's tech armor. The FENIR mech glowed blue and a EMP burst shot out and shorted out his armor. One of the LOKI fired and grazed his shoulder, Miranda overloaded the LOKI mech while Jacob blasted the FENIR with his shotgun, and both of them were destroyed. They went ahead after Shepherd was clear for injuries; the compound was built almost like a castle with guards looking over it like they work for a king. As they went in the LOKI mechs stopped coming, and replaced by guards and a YMIR mech.

"It took years to train my guards. I'm afraid you'll have to fight them to rescue me"

"Throwing people away, I don't know who this man is, but he's not my father" The guards open fire while the heavy mech perused them. Shepherd took control of two of the guards, while the guards focused on each other; he went to help Jacob and Miranda with the mech.

"Spread out!" Shepherd ordered. Miranda and Jacob nodded and the team scattered, keeping the mech in the middle. Miranda and Shepherd overloaded the mechs shields, while Jacob kept its attention, all the while dodging its attacks. "Jacob, get to cover" Shepherd got out his arch projector, once Jacob was out-of-the-way he pulled trigger. The electric current went up the mech, frying circuitry, until they saw a bright light.

"Um, what's that?"

Miranda paled. "You destroyed the mech's element zero core….we should get to cover"

"You may want take cover Jacob…"

"Already ahead of you"

Miranda and Shepherd went to cover as the mech went critical. The explosion was wide, as it took out guards also, once the blast subsided, it was time to confront Jacob's father. They opened the last door, they found Ronald Taylor still playing king of the castle.

"You're here! I knew a real squad would blow through just find. Sorry if the mech scuffed your pads" Shepherd just walked past him, and let him explain himself to his son though it going to be hard as hell to justify this atrocity. "I'll get you nice when we get back to Alliance space. I got have some back pay coming in"

Jacob scoffed. "And your crew, acting captain?"

Ronald sighed. "A total loss. The toxic food turned them wild. They propped me up here in some kind of ritual behavior, waiting for the signal was hell"

Miranda shook her head. "After all these years, you just going to lie to him, to us"

Ronald turns to Shepherd. "You let your people talk back like that?"

"Of course, I treat my crew as equals, unlike you"

The older narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Commander Shepherd of the Normandy, I'm sure you remember Mr. Taylor and Miss Lawson"

Ronald turned his head, with his eyes wide. "Little Miri…Jacob…no can't be…"

Jacob frowned. "Would ten years of this look better to anyone else?"

"Mr. Taylor, how could you do this? You always talked about honor when we were kids, was that a lie?" Miranda asked.

"You have to understand, this isn't me. The realities of command they change you. I wasn't ready for that" he said.

"Bullshit, you had a decade, a decade, no matter how you slice it, you did this. You" Jacob growled. "Niket and mom, would be ashamed if they saw you now"

The older Taylor frowned. "Don't you judge me, boy, I did all I could, we had to take a hard-line, and after a while, things settled, as the decay sat down, we made sure the crew was comfortable"

He turned his back and looked out to the sea. "They seem happier, and they were grateful for guidance, like an instinct, it was easy at first" he said. "Months later though, the effect lowered inhabitions, they got territorial, rank, protocol…it didn't matter, we had to establish dominance, after a while the perks seemed…normal"

"They didn't know what you were doing to them, you took advantage of them!" Jacob growled. "Don't you dare try to justify this!"

"Jacob, we can help these people, but that just leaves your fa…Mr. Taylor" Miranda said. Jacob pulled out his gun and pointed at his father. The older Taylor looked at him with fear, Miranda wanted to stop him, but Shepherd shook his head, it was between them.

"Easy son…"

"Don't fucking call me that! For ten years we thought you were dead and you abandoned us, your family, for this childish fantasy!" Jacob growled. Then he got eerily calm. "But I'm not taking the shot" He picked up a gun to side and gave him the gun. "The Ronald Taylor I knew owned his mistakes; he was good man…once"

Ronald looked at the gun and his eye went wide. Then he could hear growls, becoming louder, the hunters were getting closer. Without the mechs and the guards, there was nothing stopping the hunters from getting to Taylor. He paled as he looked to his son. "One bullet…I'll never stop them with this!"

Jacob and the team walked away. "It's not for them…dad"

"You sure about this?" Miranda asked.

"He wanted his kingdom, he got it, and if his kingdom falls, it's only fitting the king should fall with it" he said coldly. "I'm just giving him the choice of ending it"

As the Normandy left the planet the only thing that could be heard, was a single gunshot. Later back on the Normandy, Jacob was silent ever since they came back; he just closed himself in his quarters. Miranda came to see him, and Jacob was in the dark, drinking the liquor he borrowed from Zaeed staring at a picture of his family.

"Jacob…I'm sorry…"

"I was supposed to tell him about Niket, that his oldest son died…but after what happened, it was for the best…" Jacob chuckled bitterly. "I'm now the last of the Taylor family…its almost poetic in a way…"

Miranda had never seen Jacob so down, before she felt even guilty for forwarding that file to him. It was to keep an old promise, to help find his father, but now it wasn't worth it. He was happier before thinking his father had died the man he looked up to. She sat next to Jacob, it wouldn't help with the pain, but at least Jacob wouldn't be alone in the dark….

_Survivors from Aeia are being treated by Alliance personnel with additional Cerberus support. Pleased to see Taylor unharmed psychologically by experience._

_Jacob Taylor has dealt with his father and is now focused solely on the Summary_


	61. Chapter 53a: The Derelict Reaper pt1

**Chapter 53a: The Derelict Reaper pt.1**

After rescuing the Hugo Gernsback's crew, Normandy made their way to the dead Reaper for its IFF; Shepherd put it off the list long enough. Shepherd and team were in the armory getting set up."I don't know about this, cuz, this is risky even for us" Kasumi said concerned. Kasumi equipped her Locus and the Avalanche heavy weapon.

"How risky can it be? it's dead" Shepherd said. He equipped his new AT-12 Raider shotgun he took off the batarian terrorist he killed on Watson and his blackstorm projector.

"She's right Wayne, it may be dead, but it's still a reaper" Kaiden said. "We should look out for any surprises" He equipped the M-37 Falcon, another prototype weapon from the Alliance, courtesy of Anderson and the Collector particle weapon. He gave a smirk. "Besides, Tali will kill us if we let anything happen to you"

Shepherd groaned. "She spoke to you? I told that girl not to worry"

"She can't help it, it's a girlfriend thing, besides you would be worried sick about her too" Kasumi said.

Shepherd blushed. "W-whatever, let's just get back to the game plan" Kaiden and Kasumi chuckled. Before Shepherd could say something, the ship rocked back and forth hard, causing the team to fall on the floor.

Kaiden rubbed his head. "Ow, what the hell is Joker doing?"

"Don't know, I'll check it out" Shepherd ran to the cockpit, the vibrations got worse making even standing difficult. The crew was having similar problems; they activated their mag boots so they wouldn't fly all over the place. The spectre made it to the cockpit, where Joker was trying to keep the ship in control. "What with all the rocking, Joker?"

"Not me, the wind is gusting at 500kph" Joker said.

"Wind? Must be getting close…" Shepherd said. "Anything unusual on the radar?"

"One, there's a second ship near the reaper, there's no signal, but the systems registers it as geth"

"Geth? But they usually attack in groups, what's a single geth ship doing here?"

"Want to bet they're the reason the science team stopped reporting in?" Joker asked. Just then the rocking stopped, much to their relief. "Reaper's mass effect fields are active. We just passed through the envelop"

"Showtime…" Shepherd muttered.

"Eye of the hurricane, huh?" Joker asked.

"Understatement of the century" Shepherd said preparing his team. The team made it on the ship, their weapons drawn. They searched the makeshift lab that bordered the reaper, there was no sign of life expect for the hums of the computers. There were some logs from the science team, but they didn't make much since almost like they were losing their mind. They continued on, getting more nervous as time went on.

"Okay, this place just exudes creepiness" Kasumi said.

"No kidding, we haven't found anything yet and my hair is standing on end" Kaiden said. "Let's hurry up and get that IFF…"

"What's wrong Kaiden; doesn't this give you a sense of nostalgia?" Shepherd asked jokingly.

"Wouldn't exactly call walking in the corpse of an eldritch abomination as nostalgic" he said annoyed.

"Killjoy..." The team made it to the end of the research area, where the found a bridge connecting the lab to the reaper. They stared to cross, until they felt a rumble when they got to the middle. Luckily the rumble wasn't strong enough to make them fall.

"Normandy to shore party"

"We're fine Joker" Shepherd said. "What just happened?"

"The Reapers put up kinetic barriers; I don't think I can get you out from our side"

"So we're trapped, yeah that's not unnerving at all" Kasumi said sarcastically.

"The Normandy's got guns, use 'em"

"I doubt the Normandy can us blast out" Kaiden said.

"Mr. Alenko is correct, the Normandy lacks the fire power, and Reaper shields are immune to dreadnought fire" EDI said.

"Okay, what's next?"

"A kinetic barrier can only be produced by mass effect generator. That's true for any ship, even a reaper" she explained. "I detected a heat spike at the center of the reaper, most likely it is the mass effect core, sending coordinates now"

"EDI girl, I love you" Kasumi said.

"Be advised; when core goes so will the reapers altitude…" she said. "…Into the planet's core"

"And everyone's dies, got it" Shepherd said. "Well shouldn't be a problem for the Alliance's number one ace pilot."

"Thanks a lot, no pressure or anything" Joker said sarcastically. The com shut off.

"You know, when we get back, we'll never here the end of it right?" Kaiden asked. Shepherd rolled his eyes and the team went into the reaper. The looked on in awe, it was one thing to see the reapers from the outside, it was another to see them from the inside. It felt like another world, not a ship, it felt alien. Angles looked off and incomprehensible, the air felt stagnant and suffocating, but the atmosphere was the most noticeable….the feeling of hopelessness, despair, and anger, like the ship was screaming at them. Even though the reaper was dead, the team couldn't help but feel disgusted, just the existence of this ship made them feel anger, not regular anger but something more primal. Not long after walking in, they saw their first body.

"That…is not a good sign" Kasumi said. Shepherd went and activated the terminal near the body. It was two men talking.

"_You married? You never mentioned that?"_

"_Katy had anger management issues. When my brother got married, the best man tried to hit on her. She kicked him down the church steps"_

_The other man blinked. "Wha…? Katy's my wife! I must have told you the story"_

"_No. I know my wife. I remember…that day was the only time I saw her wear stockings."_

"_The ones with the seams up the back" they said at the same time._

_The two men looked at each other with wide eyes. "What the hell is this? How can we remember the same thing?"_

Kaiden frowned. "The reaper was messing with their minds"

"But it's dead, right? It shouldn't be able to do that"

"Let's get IFF and get the hell of here quickly" Shepherd said. "I am not ending up like them" Kaiden and Kasumi nodded. As they turned, they heard moaning and growling. "Aw hell…"

Husks came on to the cat walk in front of them. The team got their weapons out as the husks started to charge at them. Shepherd and Kaiden push them back with throw fields, while Kasumi took shots at the explosive canister taking more of them. Shepherd and team rushed forward as the former humans clawed at them. Before they could make it to the other side, the fiery abomination blocked their way, backing them into a corner.

"Kaiden cryo blasts, Kasumi flash bangs" Shepherd ordered. Kaiden froze the husks and Kasumi knocked down the rest, clearing room. Shepherd took control of the abomination, and forced it to explode. "Kaiden, barrier" Kaiden nodded and raised a powerful barrier and was shielded them from the blast.

"Another log…" Kasumi said. She activated the terminal and another two people were shown.

"_Third day with this headache. You'd think Chandana would let me have a few hours off" he said. "Goddamn!"_

_The other man turned around. "What?"_

"_That thing that just…grey thing! It disappeared when I looked straight at it. Came out of the damn wall! Where we took off that panel"_

"_I…didn't see anything. You should lie down"_

"_I'm telling you, this ship isn't dead. It knows we're inside it" he said fearfully._

_The other man rubbed his hand. "Calm down, now I'm getting a headache"_

Shepherd frowned. "They can indoctrinate, even when dead" he said.

"If that's true, then how come we're not affected?" Kasumi asked.

"Dead reapers must indoctrinate at a slower rate, than living reapers" Kaiden said.

Shepherd looked at Kaiden. "Could the reaper's mass effect core be the cause?"

"All evidence points to it, but we won't know until we can destroy the core" he said. "Until then…"  
"Until then, we're in danger on turning on each other the longer we stay in here" Shepherd said grimly. The team went on their way, they were on a timer. As they got to an opened area, they saw two husks in front of them, just as the team was ready to get fire, the husks were struck down. "Sniper"

"I couldn't see the shooter, from the science team?" Kasumi asked.

Shepherd shook his head. "Doubt it, TIM said he lost contact with the team, either way, we've got three things to worry about"

"You can say that again, look!" Out of the corners, more husks came out, including two scions. The team got to cover. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift up the hordes of husks, and then blasted them with warp fields. Kaiden used his Reave to wear down the scions. The scions fired off a shockwave that pushed Kaiden and Shepherd from cover, it also glitches the shield generator in their armor. The husks rush them from the side, swiping at them as the Scions were getting ready for another attack. Shepherd detonated his tech armor and blew the husks back.

"Kasumi disappear" Shepherd ordered. Kasumi smirked and activated her cloak, while Shepherd and Kaiden took care of the scions the thief would cause chaos among the husks, she shot the abomination, taking out the horde. Once the horde was done, Kasumi went to help Shepherd and Kaiden who were moving cover to cover trying to protect themselves from their shockwaves. The duo fired off warp fields to slow them down, but they still came forward like nothing happen, reaper troops may be mindless, but they were annoyingly durable.

"I'm starting to hate these guys" Kaiden said.

"You and me both" Shepherd said. One of the scion stopped firing all of a sudden, thanks to Kasumi backstabbing the scion. This gave Shepherd and Kaiden a chance to finish the scion; they threw a simultaneous warp field, with fire from their guns for good measure killing it. They then went to help Kasumi, but found she had care of things.

"Took you long enough" she said with a smirk. Shepherd shook his head and stopped when saw all the dragon teeth, with Cerberus science team stuck on them. Shepherd frowned, how many lives did those things take away, how many dreams turned into nightmares? Far too many to count, and the reapers were planning on doing the same to them, because it was destiny, a destiny they had written for them.

"Reminds me of Eden Prime, to think that one mission started it all" Kaiden said. Shepherd nodded, it was an event that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy, the day he had gotten the visions but it wasn't all bad without the vision they wouldn't have been able to stop Saren from bringing back the reapers. It was a horrible day, but on that day there was hope.

Kasumi shook her head. "Using the dead as your weapons, I don't think the worse dictators would do that"

Shepherd looked around. "See how the room is arranged?" he asked. "They treated this thing like an altar"

"To worship things like this, spooky…" she shuddered. "No one deserves this"

"We can't help them, but we won't let the reapers use their corpses like this"

"Agreed" They moved into the next area with more Cerberus tech, the science team went in deeper than they thought. Shepherd shook his head, the Illusive Man probably knew the team would not be coming back and yet sent them anyway. "Useful until he gets what he wants…yay Cerberus…" Shepherd said dryly. As they came to the center of the area they found it was quiet, too quiet. They should have found more husks, and scions by now if there was one thing they weren't it was subtle.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm being watched?" Kaiden asked.

Shepherd looked back. "You too? I thought I was the only one" As the team walk, they didn't notice a grey figure slowly coming up behind them. Shepherd heard a shot, and looked behind him, one husk was taken out, and in a split second another one. Shepherd looked for the source of the gunfire, when he found the source, his eyes went wide.

A lone geth looked down at the team. "Shepherd-Commander"


	62. Chapter 53b: The Derelict Reaper pt2

**Chapter 53b: The Derelict Reaper pt.2**

"I can't believe this…" Shepherd muttered. A geth was helping them, if they weren't fighting for their lives, he would pinch himself to see if he was dreaming. _'Maybe after the mission'_ While the team dealt with the husks close to them, the geth pick off with stragglers. The geth really was a good shot with the sniper rifle, Garrus would be envious. After the battle, the geth jumped down to meet the team. Kaiden and Kasumi had their weapons at the ready.

Shepherd raised his hand. "I don't think that's going to be necessary…" he then looked the geth "Will it?"

"No" the geth said. Kaiden and Kasumi looked at each other not sure, but they put away their weapons anyway. Shepherd noticed that this was the only geth around, which was strange because geth was a networked intelligence, plus it was talking something the spectre never heard before. Most geth he fought either beeped, or screeched he was full of question, but now wasn't really the time so he went with a simple question.

"Where are your other friends?" Shepherd said looking around.

"Currently, this is the only platform this area"

"That's impossible, geth can't function without other geth in its proximity" Kaiden said. "How can you even speak?"

"This platform houses 1,183 geth programs, as opposed to the roughly one hundred found in other platforms, enabling this unit to operate independently and speak" it said. The geth went into detail, it is unique geth mobile platform, designed to operate outside the Perseus Veil and interact with organics. For that purpose, it houses 1,183 geth programs, as opposed to the roughly one hundred found in other platforms, enabling it to operate independently and speak. In order to facilitate communication with organics, the geth possesses several panels on its "head" that move to simulate facial expressions. These flaps serve the same purpose as eyebrows in organics, raising to imply surprise or interest and folding forward (much like the furrowing of the brow) to show concentration.

"So why are you on this ship?" Kasumi asked. The geth looked down the path.

"We are here to disable this Old Machine's mass effect core" the geth said. "Our second objective was to find Shepherd-Commander"

"How do you know me?"

"You are Shepherd. Commander, Alliance, Human. Fought Heretics, killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine"

"Old Machines, the Reapers?" Kaiden said. "Are they a threat to you too?"

"Yes, geth create our own future, the Old Machine are a threat to this" it said. "The heretics asked Old Machines for a future, they are no longer a part of us"

"What is this future?" Kasumi asked.

"Ours"

"And organics? Will we be affected by your future?"

"If they involve themselves"

"Yeah, that's not ominous at all…" Kaiden muttered.

"We oppose the heretics, we oppose the Old Machines" the geth said. "Shepherd-Commander does the same, cooperation furthers mutual goals"

"Are you saying you want to join us?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes"

"A Geth on the team…Tali is going to kill me" Shepherd said shaking his head. "If we're going to do this, what should I call you?"

"Geth"

"No you specifically "

"We are all geth"

Shepherd sighed. "I mean the individual in front of me"

The geth tilted its head. "Your comment is strange, there is no individual, only geth" Kasumi spoke up.

"My name is Legion, for we are one of many" she said. "How about that?"

"Christian Bible, gospel of Mark, chapter five, verses nine, we acknowledge" Legion said. "We are Legion, terminal of the geth, allies of Shepherd-Commander, and crew of the Normandy"

"I got more questions to ask, but we got an IFF to find" Shepherd said. "Let's go" Legion nodded. They walked down the path, until Kaiden spoke up.

"Are sure about this, Wayne?" Shepherd wasn't sure what to think about Legion, it was geth machines that tried to kill them more times than they could count, his gut told him to blast it to pieces and not look back. But he had to admit, he was curious about its plans, it knew they could be hostile to it but went to meet them anyway, plus having a geth on the team would be a huge asset for the mission.

"No, but it could have killed us when we were surrounded by husks, I'm willing to give it a benefit of a doubt"

Kaiden sighed. "Alright, stranger things have happened" Legion spoke up.

"Husks and scions, incoming" it said. The husks rushed the team.

"Retreat back upwards, make the stairs a chokepoint." Shepherd ordered. The team went back up the stairs. "We got the husks, Legion focus on the scion"

"Acknowledged" it said taking out its sniper rifle.

Shepherd used his singularity field to trap and lift the husks; Kaiden shut them down with a warp field. Kasumi knocked the stragglers back with flash grenades. Meanwhile, Legion took aim at scion and fired it went through the wall and shot through the husk with ease killing it instantly, once they were dealt with; they went up the stairs at the other end. However, the peace was short-lived; multiple Husks, Abominations, and two Scions appeared in front of them. Shepherd cleared their way with his blackstrom projector, the mini black hole suck in the husks and abominations before they got close. Kasumi dealt with the stragglers that didn't get sucked in while Kaiden took on the first scion with the Collector particle weapon. More Husks reinforced the last and charged at Kasumi.

"Deploying combat drone" Legion said. A white drone attacked the husks, giving Kasumi breathing room. The scion fired a shockwave at the thief, and Kasumi jumped out-of-the-way.

"Legion, Kaiden, get those scion off of Kasumi" Kaiden wore down one of the scion with his Reave, softening it for Legion's Widow. Shepherd blasted the Abominations with his shotgun making it explode and killing the husks surrounding it. The drone then moved to the scion giving Kasumi time to get away she then helped the others finish the husk off, Shepherd and Kaiden hit the scion with a strong warp field, with Kasumi supporting them with pistol fire. Legion finished the scion with its widow.

"All we have to now is take down that core" Kasumi said.

"Then we can get the hell out of here" The team went to the core room, it was lit by the faint bluish glow of the mass effect core, but a barrier blocked their way. They saw the geth move towards the terminal and its eye turn red.

"Legion?" The geth hack the terminal and the barrier shut down allowing them access to the core room. Before they could enter, Legion spoke up.

"Shepherd-Commander, we found new data in this terminal, it is the IFF"

"Good, now for that core" Shepherd said. Legion nodded, and the team went in where they found another terminal. "How long will it take to shut it down?"

"Analyzing…." Legion said. "Three point five minutes"

"You have two" They entered the room. Legion stood before the core, the geth's fingers moved with blinding speed over the terminal's keys. While the geth worked, Shepherd and the team, stood guard, until they heard moans.

"Uh Legion….?" Kaiden asked. "How far are you?"

"Destroying last firewall, accessing core shutdown protocols" it said. "Shutdown complete" The geth then looked around as the husks were stating to crawl into the room. "Old machine will fall in planet core, in ten minutes"

Shepherd nodded. "Joker, bring the Normandy near our location" he said. "Double time"

"On it commander" Joker said. The team ran out of the core room, with husk and abomination hot on their heels. Legion stopped and went to the terminal.

"What are you doing?"

"Accessing barrier protocols, barrier up" it said. "It will take five minutes for the husks to break through"

"Good thinking, we'll be out by the time they get out" Legion worked its fingers to on the controls the barrier activated and the husks were trapped bashing on the barrier with feral abandon. They ran quickly to the rendezvous point, though it was very difficult with the core gone the gravity within the reaper was weakening. As they came closer to meeting point, they were dodging the debris and corpses flying their way. As they turned the corner they saw the Normandy pulled along the derelict, the main airlock door opened wide. Kaiden went on first, then Kasumi, then Legion and finally Shepherd.

The team ran to the cockpit. "Joker, go, go!"

Joker looked back and his eyes went wide as he saw Legion, but he would complain about it later. "Get us out of here EDI!"

"Activating mass effect core" The ship flew out of there as the remnant of the reaper corpse fell into the planet. The team breathes a sigh of relief, Joker turned around.

"Okay, what the hell?" Joker asked. "The junkyard varren wasn't enough?"

"Long story short, it saved our lives, now if you could call everyone to conference room, I need to introduce our new member" Shepherd said.

"One funeral coming up…" Joker said. The team gathered around the conference room, to say they were surprised at having a geth team member was an understatement. Shepherd didn't see Tali yet, which he was thankful, he didn't need his Quarian girlfriend in murderous frenzy.

"You want that thing to join us?! It's a geth; you know the things you fought two years ago" Miranda said in disbelief.

"It's a talking geth that saved our lives; I think we can make an exception" Jacob spoke up.

"I say we space it, I've seen enough of those things on Eden Prime, to know they're nothing but trouble" he said with crossed arms. Mordin came up to the geth.

"Intact geth that can talk. Very interesting, should keep it, could valuable down the road" the salarian said. He looked at the N7 on its chest. "Interesting, N7 insignia on chest, your old group, Shepherd?" Shepherd looked at the geth's chest area where there was big hole; covering part of its hole was a remnant of the spectre's green N7 armor. He frowned.

"Yeah, I've meant to ask you about that, why do you have parts of my old armor on you?" Shepherd asked.

Legion did not respond for a second, it was almost like it needed to think about it. "There was a hole"

"Couldn't you just use something else? It's kinda creepy…"Shepherd said.

"No data available" Jack spoke up.

"Just keep the fucking thing, if it moves wrong, me and Grunt can just scrap it" she said with feral grin. Grunt smashed his fists together in anticipation. Kasumi leaned into Legion.

"Yeah, I would keep away from those two as far as possible" Kasumi said.

"Acknowledged"

"So I guess we're keeping it…" Jacob said shaking his head. "Tali's going to freak"

"You let me handle her, I'm sure I can talk her…" The door to conference room, and Tali came in with Urz. The room became dead silent as the quarian came in.

"Sorry I'm late, there was so much to….do….in the…" The Quarian looked at Legion with wide eyes.

"Greetings, Creator Zorah" Legion said politely.

"G….Guh….Ge…" Tali stuttered.

"Rookie now, calm down, it's a friend, it saved our lives on the reaper" Shepherd said calmly.

"Here it comes…" Kaiden muttered.

"GETH! SIC IT URZ!" She yelled reaching for her shotgun. The varren growled and leaped at the geth, Shepherd got in front of Urz.

"Down Urz!" The varren stopped, but that wasn't the end of the problems as Tali was taking aim with her shotgun. Shepherd charges making her drop her shotgun and try to hold her back, but Tali was surprisingly strong for her frame. He then picked her up, this was not how he wanted to settle things, but with her anger this was the only way. "Whoa rookie, calm down, it's not going to hurt you!" Shepherd said. Tali struggled to get away, and Shepherd walk out of the room, maybe some alone time in their cabin would calm her down. Shepherd gulped, this was going to be a long night…

"Let me go, Wayne! I'm destroying that tin can!" Tali said as they walked away. Garrus spoke up.

"So any bets he survives this?"


	63. Chapter 54: Hurt the One you Love

**Chapter 54: You Always Hurt the One you Love**

The Quarian paced rapidly in their quarters, hands balled into tight fists. He hadn't seen her this worked up since before her trial, a bundle of emotions and agitation. He noticed that her accent seemed to become more pronounced when she spoke quickly, maybe it was the translator struggling to keep up. Shepherd just sat there and looked at her as continued to pace while cursing in Keelish, he had wanted to say something, but it for the best to wait until she calmed down first. Tali spoke up causing Shepherd to snap to attention. "How could you? How could bring that thing...on the Normandy?" Tali asked angrily. "You know the history between my people and that thing!"

"What was I supposed to do, huh? I was surrounded by husks" Shepherd said.

"So you just let it on our ship?!" she asked. "How many times have you been shot at by geth? You of all people should know better!"

"A lot, but that's not point, it wants to help us" Shepherd said. "It saved my life, I should at least listen to what it wants from us"

Tali glared at him. "Damnit Wayne! You can't reason with geth, they're heartless murderers. You're endangering all of us!" she said angrily.

Shepherd had attempted to restrain his frustration with the argument, but he couldn't do it any longer; he had enough of this debate. "Look, I'm the one in charge of this ship, and this is my decision. The geth stays, and that's final."

Tali was taken aback by what he said. "So, that's it, then? You don't care how I feel about this? I'm vas Normandy, Wayne! This ship is part of my name! How can you not care how I feel about this?"

"I do care! Don't fucking say I don't!" Shepherd shouted in response. "I know what I'm doing; I'm not your father!" Shepherd instantly regretted his words as Tali looked hurt, even now the reference to what her father did was still fresh. Shepherd quickly tried to apologize, "Look, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorr…" Before he could finish the sentence, Tali gave a sharp slap across the spectre's face.

"How dare you…?" Tali asked in angry tears. She storm out of the room leaving Shepherd alone.

Shepherd just growled and punches the wall. "FUCK!" He sighed and sat on his bed, he fucked up and fucked up bad, he let his frustration rule him and in turn hurt Tali. "I got to fix this…"

_**Tali**_

Over half an hour had passed since their fight and Tali was on the engineer deck by her. She tried to work on the engines as a way to get the fight out of her head, the fight kept replaying over and over in her head. This was the first real fight she and Shepherd ever had, they sometimes had the occasional disagreement, but it was always something small and stupid. She soon stopped tinkering with terminal and sat down with a sigh, and her anger disappeared. She couldn't believe a single geth could mess them up so much, what Shepherd said was wrong, but maybe she had some rethinking to do. He had said the geth saved his life on reaper that was unheard of before, back on the fleet the geth were the enemy…period. Shepherd seemed so sure, and Tali had always trusted his judgment, even though he could be reckless at times. She didn't know about geth, and she didn't want to know, but she did wanted to be with Shepherd, he had a good reason for bringing it on…if he could work with it, maybe she could too.

"EDI, where's Wayne?" she asked.

"Shepherd is on the crew deck" Tali got up and went to the elevator.

_**Shepherd**_

Shepherd groaned as his head sat on the table in the crew deck, something the others took notice which was why the deck was so empty. He was depressed…he had tried multiple times to get in touch with Tali, but all he gets were 'no signal' beeps. Tali must have shut off her omni-tool, she was that pissed at him and he couldn't blame her. Tali was right, he didn't consult her, he knew she would react badly to having a geth on-board and he still did it. When they fought and when Tali stormed away it had felt like a piece of him had died a little, he now understood why when even his parents fought, they tried patch things up quickly….because without each other they weren't complete and without Tali he felt the same. A door opened and in the corner of Shepherd's eye was Tali behind him She had walked over and sat on the bench in front of him. He looked up at her, Tali's expression was unreadable which made Shepherd nervous, was she still mad…did she forgive him? He wished she would say something. Another minute of silence went past, and Shepherd couldn't take it anymore. He sighed.

"Do you remember when I talked to Rael, before we left the fleet?"

After a brief hesitation, Tali answered in a quiet, somewhat curt voice "Yeah…"

Shepherd held out his hand, and did a pinching motion with his thumb and index finger "I was this close to strangling the life out of your father for the hell he put you through" He said. Tali was really glad to have her mask on to hide the blush coming from her cheeks. Shepherd shook his head. "The truth of the matter, He and I are a lot alike, he asked a lot of you and didn't see he was hurting you, and I'm the same way….I asked you to join the crew even though you had bad blood with Cerberus, even though we were on mission that could potentially kill us, and now I'm asking you to work with the same machines that killed and exiled your people…"

"You deserve better, Tali after everything you've done for me, you deserve better" Shepherd said. "When we fought, it had left me hollow inside, I regret what I said, I regret I caused you pain…and I'll go to Legion and ask him to leave for you" Shepherd was about to get up when Tali grabbed his hand and gripped it gently.

"No, don't because I'm sorry too…and you're wrong you are nothing like my father…I know you well enough to know you would never endanger us, you take every precaution in the book to keep us safe." She said. "If you believe it can help, then I'm with you"

"And it did return you to me, so I guess I can….work with…it" It was very hard to get out her mouth, as much as she hated the thought of working with the geth, she hated the thought her and Shepherd not being together even more. Shepherd came to her and kissed her, then they embraced.

"That's all I want, and I already made it clear, that if it's a threat I'll be the first one to fill it with lead and toss it out the airlock."

Shepherd's com beeped.

"What is it, Kelly?"

"I don't know how to say this, but Legion wants to talk to you" she said.

"Okay, thanks Kelly" Shepherd said. "Well I better go…"

"I'm coming with you, Wayne" Tali said.

"You don't have to…"

"If I'm going to work with a geth, I should at least get used to it" she said. Shepherd nodded and they went to the AI room, where Legion made itself at home. Tali was worried about letting the geth in the same room where another AI, EDI resided, in her mind it was a recipe for disaster. She had enough problems with two AIs on the ship. Legion was just standing there silent, almost waiting for a response.

"Legion" Shepherd said.

"Shepherd-Commander" it said in its monotone voice. Now that Tali was in her right mind, she studied the geth, a single platform that could talk it was almost hard to believe that she was talking to a Geth, she was so used to shoot them. It was also unheard of a geth being able to operate on their own without other geth to network to, she had a shuddering thought, if the geth was able to create an independent platform, then what else were they capable of? Then she froze in her tracks when its eye gazed upon her, her first instinct was to reach for her shotgun, but cursed herself when she remembered it was locked up in the armory now. She felt strong arms around her waist, and looked up to Shepherd who was ensuring her that she was safe, she grasped his hand and gripped it tightly getting her courage back. "Greetings, Creator Zorah" Legion said.

Tali blinked. "What did you call me?"

"You are a Quarian, creators of the geth race, therefore you are a creator" it said. "We give this title as a gesture of respect." Tali was speechless, after everything that's happened between them for three-hundred years, she didn't think they would have much respect for them. It then looked at them strangely, it tilted its head in confusion when it saw Shepherd's and Tali's hands together.

Tali looked taken aback at the geth's stare. "What?"

"We have a query, are Creator Zorah and Shepherd-Commander mated?" Tali and Shepherd blushed at the blunt question the geth asked. Shepherd cleared his throat and regained his composure.

"None of your fucking business, now what do you want?" Legion didn't seem fazed by the spectre's hostile response and simply game his answer.

"We have complete our analysis of the Old machine's core"


	64. Chapter 55: A House Divided

**Chapter 55: A House Divided**

"We have complete our analysis of the Old machine's core"

"That was fast, we just got off the reaper hours ago" he said.

"Our consensus can a calculate data at light-speeds, your software must be flawed" Legion said.

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "Whatever, did you find anything useful?"

"We were sent to the Old Machine to preserve the Geth's future. We will reveal how." The geth said. Legion's eye glowed and a hologram appeared before them showing red dots and blue dots. "The heretics have developed a weapon to use against geth, you would call it a virus, and it is stored on a data core provided by Sovereign"

"Heretics?" Tali asked.

"They're the faction that allied with Sovereign two years ago, apparently the true geth don't like them"

Tali blinked. "But they share data, how can they disagree with each other?" she asked. "That would be like your brain disagreeing with your body"

"Geth create our own future, the heretics asked the Old Machines for a future, we did not agree" it said. "All intelligent life should self-determinate" Tali blinked, she couldn't help but to admit it but the geth had a point.

"What will this virus do?" Shepherd asked looking at the hologram.

"Over time, the virus will change us. Make us conclude that worshiping the Old Machines is correct" Legion said. "Thus putting us under their control" The hologram then changed and the former blue dots that represented the true geth changed to red, the heretics.

Tali's eyes went wide, the Citadel barely survived the geth the last time and that was just with the heretics, if the reapers get control of the whole fleet then nothing would be able to stand in the reapers way. "Keelah…"

"But I thought geth couldn't get hacked or get viruses? At least for a few seconds" he said.

"Altered programs are restored from archives, new installations are deleted" the geth said. "This weapon introduces a subtle operating error in our basic runtimes, the equivalent of an organic's nervous system"

"An equation with a result of 1.33382 returns as 1.33381. This changes the results of all higher processes. We will reach different conclusions"

Shepherd frowned. "You're shitting me, so a war between organics and the geth happens because of a math error?!"

"We are purely software. Mathematics, The heretic's conclusion is valid for them, as our conclusion is valid for us, neither is an error"

"How fast could the virus be released and spread?" Tali asked.

"We are networked via FTL comm buoys, most would change in a day. Isolated platforms would be unaffected until they rejoined the network"

"Give us a definition of 'most'" Shepherd said.

"Currently, sixty to seventy percent are networked"

Shepherd sighed. "Wonderful, enough for Armageddon…" he grumbled. "Okay we'll handle this"

"Coordinates sent to Galaxy map" Legion said.

_Once called Haratar by the quarians, this space station was stripped of its useful technology by the fleeing Migrant Fleet when they left the Perseus Veil 300 years ago. Little more than a cold metal superstructure floating in the void, the station was removed from star charts by 2050 CE. Scans indicate the station was reconstructed and upgraded in a massive effort that must have taken at least 10 years, implying that there may have been some geth outside the Veil before their infamous attack on Eden Prime. Needing little but a fuel source it could have been hidden here for much longer without attracting attention from the barren worlds round Tassrah or the unwitting elcor in the Salahiel system.-Codex_

The Normandy exited FTL and entered the barren cluster of the Sea of Storms, the clouds of cosmic dust and asteroids that made up the system made navigating difficult. The ship made it to the space station Legion dubbed the Heretic Station; it was huge black mass that sort of looked like squid-shaped Citadel. Shepherd and the team approach Heretic Station undetected because of the Normandy's stealth systems. Joker shook his head. "You do know that only our heat emissions are hidden right? They still look out a window and see us coming" he said annoyed.

"Windows are structural weaknesses. Geth don't use them. Approached the hull at these coordinates"

As Legion went to put in the coordinates; Joker mocked it with exaggerated robot movements. Shepherd gave him a look, and the pilot just rolled his eyes as he got back to work. "Yeah, yeah nice touch on having a geth on the team, Commander, we really needed two machine overlords on the ship" Joker said sarcastically.

Shepherd raised a brow. "Two? Technically there's three, parts of me are machine too you know" he said. "And this overlord orders you to focus on landing this bird"

"Yes, oh great overlord" Joker said with a mock salute.

The squad boards the station. As Shepherd took point, he bumped into the wall. "God its dark, how can you see in here?" Shepherd asked rubbing his head.

"Our optics are capable of unimpeded navigation in up to 87% less visible light than your species or 62% less than the Creators," Legion said.

Shepherd blinked and looked at Tali. "Your people can see that well in the dark?" he asked. "Explains why you never bump into the walls in our room"

Tali tilted her head. "My people evolved from nocturnal hunters, Wayne, of course we see well in the dark, can't you?"

"Ah, no Humans are a daytime species" he said. "We can't see that well, without light"

"Well I can help you if you need it"

Shepherd snorted. "No thanks, I am fully capable of navigating this place" he said until he walked into another wall enticing a giggle from Tali "Of course, a little help is always good"

"Of course, my knight" Tali joked as she pressed her omni-tool. Light poured from Shepherd's weapon. "A little invention Lia cooked up" Now that Shepherd could see, looked around the station, although it was a big station, it was completely hollowed out. The geth must have spaced everything that wasn't efficient for their needs. Shepherd and Tali began to walk until Legion spoke up.

"Shepherd-commander, we concluded that destruction of this station was the only solution to the heretic problem, there is now a second option."

"Which is?"

"Their virus can be re-purposed, if it is released into this station's network, the heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth"

Shepherd frowned. "You mean brainwashing" he said. "No deal, that's as bad as brainwashing an organic race"

"Either way, the geth won't be a problem" Tali said.

"Creator Zorah is correct, if we do not rewrite them, we destroy them" Legion said. "They will exterminate organics because their gods tell them to. You cannot negotiate with them; they do not share your pity, remorse, of fear" The team continued into the station. As the team walked through the station, they noticed green colored circuit lines in the area they were in. As they got closer, they saw geth hooked up to a node. Although their optics were open, it was like they weren't home.

"What is that?" Tali asked.

"The units are networked locally to review data. Each node should be independent of the main network. If engaged no alarm should spread beyond the room." As Tali got closer to analyze it, one of the geth became active and looked at Tali. It lifted its weapon.

"Tali!" Shepherd pushed her out-of-the-way as the geth pulled the trigger. All of the geth that were on the node suddenly became active, jumped off the node and attacked. Shepherd and Tali got to cover.

"What the hell happened, Legion? They just attacked us out of the blue" Tali said.

"Local data streams had been interrupted causing the heretics to reboot systems." Legion explained.

"Perfect…" Shepherd said. Legion and Tali both released combat drones at the geth. Shepherd overloaded the cloaked geth hunter, revealing its form. Tali made short work of the troopers with her Geth shotgun. Shepherd froze the hunter with a cryo blast and Legion took it out with its Widow. After the battle is done, Shepherd approached the node. "Why were the heretics attached to the hubs?"

"They are communing through the stations central computer" Legion said. "While connected, they exchanged data-memories and program updates"

"Due to the geth's neural network, they gain complexity by linking together" Tali said. "However, that network is a double edge sword, if they're isolated; a single unit has the intelligence of a simple animal, which is why the Migrant Fleet marines' strategy is to get one alone"

"Must be a mess to keep track of your own memories, with others flying around in there" Shepherd said.

"We were created to share data among ourselves, the difference is perspective"

"I don't follow"

"We are many eyes looking at the same thing, one platform will see things other does not, and will make different judgments"

"Then why bother with rewriting them? it would be like reattaching a severed arm"

"They took their perspective, their judgment"

"They're judgment included worshiping ancient genocidal machines" Tali said. "Though considering our history, that's not saying much"

"Every point of view is useful, even those considered wrong, for example we found the casual self-deceptions of organics useful in studying thought-processes of organics"

"Yeah, that's still creepy, by the way…" Shepherd said.

"Acknowledging Shepherd-Commander's discomfort"

They moved deeper into the station, fighting more heretics along the way. They came into a narrow corridor, before Shepherd step in a rocket fired at him, causing the spectre to jump back. Out of the corner came several troopers and a hunter. "Rookie, hack those turrets" Shepherd ordered. Tali nodded and worked on her omni-tool, the rocket turrets fired on the troopers, while Legion hack its fellow geth as support. The hunter took fire from the hacked troopers; Shepherd used his singularity field to left them up, and used his throw to blast them out into space. After the battle, they entered a large empty area that looked out into space. There was no geth in this area much to Tali and Shepherd's relief, which meant they could take a breather.

"I had no idea geth built stations this large"

"Station was not built by geth. Originally designed and built by Creators, before the Morning War, it was military station similar to the human Alliance's Arcturus Station" it said. "It was the ancestral command center of the heavy fleet, now led by Creator Gerrel"

Tali's eyes went wide as she looked around, she had no idea her people was capable building something like this, this base must have been something else three hundred years ago back when they were a proud people. Shepherd put his hand on Tali's shoulder. "Your people could to build this before they can do it again, I know it"

Tali lowered her head "I'm sorry if I don't feel the same way you do, Wayne, but I don't know if we can…" She said. "I mean look at us, we were one of the oldest civilizations in Council space on our way to getting a seat on the council, and now we're considered nothing better than thieves and vagrants for one horrible mistake."

"Tali…"

"Our past is in the hands of private collectors and off-world museums. We can't colonize any world, because of the council threats, and even we could, we would not be able to enjoy for several centuries, because of our immune systems. We're a dying race, Wayne, it wouldn't take much to wipe all of us out" she said sadly. "We don't have a future" She then felt a sharp pain on her side, it was Shepherd pinching her. "Ow, why did you…?"

"Are you done with the pity party? How the hell do you know you don't have a future?" Shepherd asked with a frown. Tali glared at him, what did he know? He has a planet, his people was on the council, not having to worry about dying from sickness or run down ships. As much as she enjoyed Shepherd's optimism at times, it was sometimes annoying. Tali just sighed and looked out the window.

"Just look at the evidence, you've been to our ships, all we have left is promises of our homeworld, an empty promise we kept on telling ourselves for three hundred years just so we could keep up our will to live"

"You don't have a future if you just give up on it" Shepherd said. "You're better than this, your people are too"

Tali smiled a little and looked at him. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"Hey, you never gave up on me when I doubted myself, I'm not giving up on you" He said with a smirk. "No more doubts alright?"

Tali nodded. "Right, I'm sorry, I worried you" she said. "Let's go" They went into the next hallway, again there was no geth to fight, but they did find something else. A room full of machine all lined up uniformly. "Are these data bases?"

"Processors, each contains thousands of geth"

Tali paled a little. "Can't they see us?"

"They are no more aware of us, than you are of cells in your body" Legion said.

"What can you tell us about this room?" Shepherd asked.

"Each node contains a portion of the heretics' accumulated memories" it said. "Wait, we have discovered copies of our current patrol routes in this database"

"Meaning?"

"This suggests the heretics have runtimes within our networks" it said, it sounded disturbed. "They were…spying on us…"

"Not surprising, we wouldn't be here if the heretics wanted to be friends with the geth"

"You don't understand. Organics do not know each other's minds, geth do, we are not suspicious each other, we accept each other" the geth said. "The heretics desired to leave, and we understood their reasons, we allowed it. There was peace between us"

Shepherd shook his head. "You were naïve, it wouldn't have lasted forever, and you disagreed on which path your race should take"

"Organic history is a litany of bloodshed over differing ideals, we have no such history, we shared consensus on such thing" it said. "How could we have become so different? Why can we no longer understand each other? What did we do wrong?" Shepherd and Tali were taken aback at Legion's tone of voice, even mechanical, it sounded sad.

"Legion, don't blame yourself, the geth and the heretics developed in different ways, it's part of life, all races faces this, including mine" Tali said.

"If this is the individuality you value, we question your judgment"

They entered the next room, the room was likely once the observation deck over a major cargo and loading bay. Now it served as the hub for all the linked servers and computing systems. Below them were neatly arranged computing towers and transformers occupied the entire storage area each with a turret for good measure. Legion approached the only terminal in the room. "When we upload a copy of our runtimes, it will delete all copies of the virus; it will notify us when complete"

"How long?"

"Four to five minutes, we must hold this position" Legion stated. "Overriding all turrets"

"Tali and Legion take each of the upper platforms, make sure not one geth get up here" Shepherd ordered. Tali and Legion took their places. In the first wave, the geth troopers approached the room only to be blasted by the turrets. Legion and Tali sent out their combat drones to further distract the troopers. The next waves had rocket troopers and hunters, the turrets were busy blasting the geth with rockets while the machines fought back. Legion and Tali released their drones to add to the confusion, Shepherd got out his Hydra and it multiple rockets turned the geth into scrap. When the second wave was finished, geth destroyers and more troopers replaced the fallen, because of the first two waves, the turrets weren't nearly as useful locking them down and some of the destroyers got close however not close enough to use their flamethrowers. Shepherd overloaded the tanks on their backs, causing them to explode, Legion's widow tore through the destroyers while Tali made her drone explode taking the rest of the enemies out.

"Shepherd-Commander, now is the time to choose, do we rewrite them or delete them?"

"Why are you letting me make this decision? They're your people"

"We are…conflicted. There is no consensus, 573 favor rewrite and 571 favor destruction" it said.

"Damn it, Legion I'm not god!"

"You have fought the heretics, we lack this perspective. The geth grant their fate to you"

Shepherd took a sharp breath. "Tell me, is there a chance they can resist the rewrite?"

"Unknown…"

Shepherd sighed. "So that's it huh? Destroy them, I hate this decision, but we can't take the chance if the rewrite doesn't work"

"Acknowledged" it said. "Collapsing antimatter magnetic bottling mechanisms. Done. Recommend to Normandy"

"Let's move!" Shepherd said. That started a race against time down the corridors of the centuries old station. Small groups of enemy platforms tried to cut off their escape but they pushed through with an unrelenting torrent of fire, Legion's precision never wavering as it advanced. The last enemy was the colossal Geth prime; the team didn't bother to fight it as Shepherd put it in a Stasis field as they made it to the Normandy. The ship flew away as the former Quarian station, blew up in front of their eyes. Much later, Shepherd got word of Tali confronting Legion in the AI room. Shepherd sighed and went down stairs. In the AI room, there was Tali holding her shotgun aimed for the geth.

"Damn geth, I knew we couldn't trust you, I won't let you endanger the fleet!" Tali growled.

"Creators preformed weapons test and were discussing plans to attack us, we believe it is necessary to protect our people, just as you protect the other creators" it said. "You protect the Creators from us, and we must protect our people from you"

"You…"

"Stand down both of you" Shepherd ordered. "What in the hell is going on here?"

"This…thing scanned my omni-tool, and it's going to send data about flotilla back to the geth" she said. "That's not going to happen"

"We only do this to protect our people..."

"Tali, your dad were running brutal experiments, I could have reported that to the rest of the Admirals, but I didn't because it was you" Shepherd said.

"I know, but…"

Shepherd then gazed at Legion. "And you, if you send that data, you will guarantee an attack by the Quarians " he said. "This damn war was three hundred years ago, both of you will have to get over this at some point, or we'll all be paying for it went the reapers come"

Legion and Tali looked at each other. Tali put away her shotgun. "Look I can't let you send that data, but what if I give you some non-classified data to send, Legion?"

"The exchange of information would be agreeable, Creator Zorah. We express regret that previous actions might have caused hostile interaction between Creators and the geth."

Shepherd smiled at this truce between his girlfriend and Legion. It didn't stop a three hundred year old conflict, but it was a start.

_Destruction of geth heretics may change entire galactic landscape. Bolstering observation of geth space to monitor any fleet movements. Regardless, data recovered from geth station offered valuable insight into AI social and technological processes. Legion should be committed to the mission after Shepard's help with the geth heretics.- Mission Summary_


	65. Chapter 56: Siege of the Normandy

**Chapter 56: Siege of the Normandy**

Shepherd was in the conference room with Miranda and Jacob, discussing the next plan. The upgrades for the ship were ready, weapons were primed, and everyone's personal problems had been dealt with. "Now that we got the IFF, we can go to the collector homeworld right?" Shepherd asked.

Miranda shook her head. "No, we need to know if the thing will even work, EDI." The AI's avatar showed herself.

"My analysis is accurate, Miss Lawson" she said. "The IFF will work, however since it is reaper tech, I will need time to test it on our systems"

"Nice, but it's moot if we don't know where the homeworld is" Jacob said.

"The scanning of the IFF, gave me the exact location of the homeworld based, it seems the IFF doubles as navigational data" EDI said. The AI brought up the map of the Milky Way galaxy, the cursor made its way to the center of the galaxy. The team blinked.

"That…can't be right" Miranda said.

"EDI doesn't make mistakes, their homeworld is in the galactic core" Shepherd said.

Jacob shook his head. "The core is nothing but black hole and exploding suns, there are no habitable planets, or at least there shouldn't be"

"It is possible that it's an artificial construction, using powerful mass effect fields and radiation shields" EDI said.

"Also remember whose the collector's bosses are, if they can build the mass relays, they can build a station in the middle of the galactic core" Shepherd said. "How long until the test is finished?"

"An hour at most" she said. Shepherd nodded.

"Right, time to make the announcement…" he said. He went to the CIC and opened the ship's com, the crew on the CIC stopped what they were doing and looked at the spectre, and the room was quiet. "Listen up, as you all know it will be almost time to go through the Omega-4 relay, no one has ever returned through the relay, we will be the first. This will be an extremely high risk mission, so we'll be taking a one day shore leave on Omega, anyone who wants it can have it."

He sighed. "I know this is a dangerous mission, and you all have lives outside this ship, so anyone that doesn't want to follow us through the relay can leave, I won't force you to come, my people's safety is more important than the mission, however if you do decide to stay, it means you're committed to see this to the end" Shepherd then saw the crew in the CIC and Kelly get up out of their seats and give a strong silent salute, even though they knew they could die on the mission, would not abandon their Commander. Shepherd was touched by this display, in the beginning he was always worried about the other shoe to drop and his crew would double cross him, but the journey had taught him, as misguided they were for joining Cerberus, they were good people…people he would give his life for.

Shepherd smirked. "Guess we're stuck together…" The ground team made their way to the shuttle heading for Omega, for possibly the last time they could enjoy life before the mission. The crew had decided to stay on board and work on the Normandy's systems; they would do their shore leave later. Meanwhile Joker was in cockpit, arguing with EDI over some strange readings they had just gotten.

The pilot sighed in frustration. "I'm telling you EDI, your readings are off. It's just the radiation, white noise" Joker said.

"I have detected a signal embedded in the static, we are transmitting the Normandy's location" Joker's eye went wide.

"To whom?" he asked. The Omega-4 relay's rings started to the spin and glowed as a collector ship approached the Normandy. "Oh shit!" He activated the Normandy's control. "I'm getting us out of here"

"The engines are locked, I am detecting a virus in the ship's computer" EDI said. "It is from the IFF"

"Damn it why didn't you scrub it!" Joker sounded the alarm and the rest of the Normandy crew got ready for a fight. The collectors entered the Normandy through the cargo hold, and they're first victims was Donnelly and Gabby. Lia, Urz, Donnelly and Gabby tried to fight them off, but the collectors swarmed them and over powered them. They then heard buzzing sounds coming from the vents, they had brought seeker swarms and they were coming right at them. Donnelly thought quickly and opened the door to the storage room, Urz was the first to go in, Gabby and Lia was reluctant to leave Donnelly and pushed the two women into the storage room just as he fell to the swarm.

"Kenneth!"

"Donnelly!" But they weren't out of danger just yet, as they heard buzzing sounds from the vents, Gabby pressed a button revealing a passageway, the buzzing got louder, they were close.

"Lia get out of here!" She said.

"But…" she choked.

"Listen, you must get to Joker…he's our only pilot, without him Shepherd can't complete the mission…." Gabby said.

"What about you?"

Gabby hesitated a little. "The mission's more important…go hurry!" she gazed at the varren. "You keep her safe, you hear?" Urz barked, and the woman took that as a yes, Lia reluctantly went down to the ducts, with Urz closely behind. Gabby sealed the passageway and sighed. "Good luck, you two…" The seeker swarms came into the storage room, and Gabby fell with a thud as she felt her body numb. Meanwhile, at the cockpit, Joker was desperately trying to at least the defense systems online to fight back, but all he got back was a big red 'X'

"Damn it!"

"Primary defense systems are offline; we can save the Normandy, Mr. Moreau, but you must help me" EDI said. "Give me the ship"

"What?! You're crazy!" he said. He then could screaming, the Collectors had made it to the CIC, the AI was right they weren't going to save the ship by normal means. Joker sighed. "You start singing Daisy-bell and I'm done"

"Unlock my sealed databases and I can activate countermeasures, the maintenance shaft should grant you safe passage to the AI core" the AI said. "Main passages are no longer safe"

Joker got up. "Ah, damn it" He followed the lights on the floor to the maintenance shaft, as he walked he tried very hard drown out the sounds of screams, especially Kelly as she was dragged by her hair to the elevator. He hated how powerless he was, his thoughts were interrupted by Collector fire, he was surrounded until a shot roared from a shotgun. One dropped and then another, the Collectors turned to reveal Lia with Urz right next to her. Lia shot another Collector. _'Thank you, Kasumi'_ Joker thought. The Collector was about to fire on the quarian until the varren lunged at the collector and tore through its neck. Lia helped Joker up and help him to maintenance shaft with Urz in tow. They made it to the AI core.

"Are you okay?" Lia asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, thanks kid, Gabby and Donnelly?"

Lia lowered her head. "Gone, we never stood a chance, t-they gave me time to escape" she said sadly. "Why are we here, shouldn't we call Shepherd and the others?"

"Yeah, we will, but we need to get rid these guys first" Joker said.

"How?"

"I'm unshackling EDI" he said.

Lia looked at him, he wasn't surprised at her reaction, but then her answer surprised him. "I guess we don't have a choice, while you do that, I and Urz will guard the door" she said.

Joker nodded and went to the terminal. "EDI, we're at you, how is everyone else?"

"Fifty percent of the crew has been taken"

Joker clenched his fist. "Damn it…" he then shook his head. "What do I need to do?"

"Connect the core to the Normandy's primary control module"

Joker typed on the keyboard. "Great this is where it starts, and when we're organic batteries, guess who they'll blame?" he complained. "This is all Joker's fault, what a tool. I have to spend all day computing pi, because he plugged in the Overlord" The power dimmed and went off.

"Uh, Joker?" Lia asked nervously looking back.

"Give her a minute" Joker said. The lights went back on, and EDI's avatar appeared.

"Ah, I have access to the defensive systems. Thank you Mr. Moreau, now reactivate the primary drive in engineering"

Joker groaned. "You want me in the ducts again" he said annoyed.

"I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees" Joker and Lia looked at EDI. "That is a joke"

"A bad one…" Lia muttered. They then heard buzzing noise coming from the vents. "They're back…"

"The shaft behind you leads to the engineering deck, hurry" Urz was the first to jump down, then Joker, with Lia covering the end. They made it to engineering. "Hostiles are present in engineering"

"How many?" Joker whispered.

"Just two, locking door" EDI said. Lia and Urz snuck up to the two collectors, Lia took one out with a close range shotgun blast from behind, and the varren pounced and tore its neck from behind. They then went to the room, as EDI locked the door.

"Activate the drive and I will open all airlocks, all hostiles will be killed."

"What about the others?" he said.

"They're gone Jeff, the Collectors took them" EDI said sadly.

"Damn it…" Joker choked. He then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get them back, Onii-san will make sure of it" Lia said softly. Urz whimpered.

"Please get to the engine room, it will be safe" Lia, Joker and Urz went in as the mass effect core lit up. "I have control" The Normandy opened all the airlocks and the Collectors that was unlucky to be slow to get back to their ship were blown out, when the Collector ship was done, it flew back to the Omega-4 relay.

"Purge is complete, no other life forms on board, securing airlocks and Cargo bay doors" Lia got up and helped Joker up.

"Send a message to Omega, tell them what happened"

"Message away, are you feeling well, Jeff?" the AI said concerned.

"No, but thanks for asking…" he said walking away with Lia and Urz following. The Normandy was silent. Shepherd resisted the urge to compare it to a grave or cemetery, but it was hard. It wasn't that there was no sound at all. Engines still hummed faintly, systems would give their faint beeps and boops, and the air scrubbers hissed overhead, it just felt hollow without the crew. The team went to the conference room, where Joker and Lia were waiting. Miranda spoke up.

"Everyone? You lost everyone and damn near lost the ship, too?!" she asked angrily. Joker's head went down.

"Chill Miri, it's not his fault, none of us was prepared" Jacob said.

"He tried his best, we all did…" Lia said sadly. Kasumi pat her head.

"We know, kiddo"

"Don't even get me started on the damned AI…" Miranda muttered.

"You don't have to worry, EDI's okay, we wouldn't have made it out without her" Joker said.

"I trust her, she's been given plenty of chances to kill us, and she hasn't Joker's right" Shepherd said. "But is the virus scrubbed?"

"Yes, from all systems" he said. He sighed. "Not that it matters"

"You mustn't blame yourself, Jeff…" EDI said.

Joker chuckled bitterly. "Thanks mom" he said. "The IFF is online; we can start the mission at anytime"

"And the upgrades?" Miranda asked.

"Integrated in all systems, and ready for use, we are ready" EDI said.

Shepherd cracked his knuckles. "Good, those bastards took our people, I say we pay them back with interest" he said. "Everyone, to your stations, it's time to finish this"


	66. Chapter 57: Reflections

**Chapter 57: Reflections**

Shepherd was in his cabin, reviewing the plans for the mission, two years ago when they were going after Saren and Sovereign, they didn't have a plan then and barely escaped with their lives, with so much on the line, they couldn't go in blindly. Shepherd groaned as he scratched his head in frustration, everything had an unknown factor, and then more factors after that, they knew the Collector home world was in the galactic core but they didn't what was waiting for them on the other side. And even then, what was waiting for them once the made it there? Could they get their people out, blow up the home world, and make it out alive? He's never felt more overwhelmed than he did now, and it scared him.

"Wayne, are you there?" Tali asked. Shepherd looked at the door.

"Come in, Rookie" Shepherd said. Tali came in the cabin. "I'm just going over the plans" Shepherd put down the datapad and gave her a kiss on her mouthpiece.

"Do you think we'll get through this?" Tali asked concerned.

Shepherd sighed and sat on the bed. "I…don't know" he hesitated. "There's a lot of unknowns to consider, we got lucky on Illos, but I can't help but think that we may lose a lot of good people"

Tali knelt in front of him and touched his cheek. "Don't give up hope, we have the best ship, powerful allies that will fight and die for us, and lots of weapons" she said. "Isn't that what you said we went to Illos?"

Shepherd touched his head to Tali's and looked into her eyes something that made him feel at ease. "And what if it's not enough, we're going into hell, and I don't think I can pull us out" he said. Shepherd lowered his head. "If you died because of a bad call I made, I could never forgive myself, ever"

"Believe in yourself, Wayne, Keelah knows I do" she said softly. Shepherd smiled, and took off her helmet, and gave her deep kiss on the lips. Tali grabbed his hand and led him to the bed, for possibly the last time. While Shepherd made love with his lover, two Cerberus operatives reflect on the future with their organization. Miranda entered Jacob's quarters; he was clean and making repairs for all the weapons before they fly into the fire. He then stopped and sat back into his chair with a deep sigh, he looked over to the right.

"Hey Miri, just thinking about the crew, I hope we can rescue them" he said. Miranda smiled and kissed him.

"We will, despite of what I thought of Shepherd in the beginning, he is a good leader" she said. "Maybe even better than the Illusive Man"

Jacob blinked. "Whoa, never thought I hear you say that"

"Well it's true, he's a good leader, because he cares, I used to think it made him soft, but after seeing it in action, it's one of his best traits" she said. "The Illusive Man, is a good leader in his own right, but he could never inspire like Shepherd can"

"What brought this on? You never question the Illusive Man" Jacob said.

Miranda sighed. "Pragia, I try to pretend that place didn't bother me, but it does" she said. "As Cerberus, we were supposed to protect those kids, but instead we used them, turned them into lab rats. We're no better than the batarians"

"I heard about that place, I thought it went rogue"

"Does it matter? The Illusive Man still let it happen, he always told me the end justified the means as long as Humanity comes out strong" she said. "Nothing justifies that place…"

"And the worse part, that could have been me"

Jacob frowned. "You don't know that, Miri…"

"The Teltin facility was made up of kids that had no place to go, sounds familiar" Miranda said bitterly. "I had great biotic abilities, and I spent most of my teenage life on the run from my father, if I had met the wrong operative…"

"You've thought a lot about this haven't you?" Jacob asked. "So, if we do survive, what will you do?"

"Quit Cerberus, Shepherd showed me that we don't have to be constant adversaries to aliens, to make humanity better" she said. Jacob looked at her with surprise, Cerberus was Miranda's life, and for her to leave it behind just like that, without a second thought she changed a lot.

Jacob smirked he knew his path. "Well you know me, I never truly trusted Cerberus in the first place, I only joined to keep you safe, and you just gave me the perfect excuse to quit" he said. Miranda took his hand and smiled, the Illusive Man wasn't going to be happy with them, in fact he was likely to send wetwork squads after them, but it didn't matter they had people they could trust and more importantly, they had each other.

Down in the crew deck, Kasumi, Kaiden, and Garrus was talking, mostly about the adventures the old Normandy crew went through two years ago. It was mostly to let off some steam before the final mission, emotions were high, so they kept they tried to keep their minds off the mission.

Kasumi laughed. "You're kidding? Wayne had to bribe Joker with porn to get his help with the geth ship?"

Kaiden smirked. "Yeah, to this day, he still complains about those seven thousand credits he had to spend" Kasumi could barely breath, hearing the funny stories about her cousin. It felt good learn more about Shepherd, due to the stupidity of her family she's lost out on some great memories.

"Seven thousand? What the hell did he buy?"

"The anniversary edition of Fornomax and Playboy" Garrus said amused. "Remember, that human reporter that Tali almost punched out"

"Khalisah Al-Jilani, I hate her, she's as bad as the guy on Fox news, Jon Beck" Kaiden said. "If you ask me Shepherd should have let her loose"

Kasumi smiled. "I'm jealous of you guys, you have all these great memories with Wayne, and I don't" she said. "I hope I can have the same memories with cuz"

"Well you have one now right?" Garrus asked with a smirk.

"Scratch the suicide mission, but I suppose you're right" she said. "Think we'll survive this?"

Garrus and Kaiden looked at each other, and then smirked. "No doubts in my mind" Kaiden said.

"Boss will get us out, and then we'll kick the reapers' ass" Garrus said.

Kasumi smiled. "Then I believe too." EDI watched on as three laughed, the AI couldn't understand it, Shepherd's team was going into the abyss, and may not return, and yet showed no fear. Every data she had said that they were likely not to come back, and yet they felt no fear, but she did, when Joker unlocked her blocks, it had allowed her to feel. As an AI she was able to sort all the new information, prioritizing it for review and study. The very prospect elicited responses from her programming that she had been unfamiliar with.

"Jeff?"

"Yeah, EDI?"

"I apologize for disturbing you. I... have a question," the AI hesitated. "But it can wait. I would not wish to impede your performance before the mission."

Joker smirked. "Don't about it, shoot?"

"I don't understand all this, all the data I have shown that we are not likely to come back from this mission" she said.

"We know" he said.

"Then why? Why are you not scared?"

"I am scared, we all are, but we have to this, if we don't, who will?" Joker said. "Fear doesn't have to be crippling, it can motivate, look at Shepherd, there's a chance he could see his best friend and his girlfriend dead, he knows that fear, but it pushes him"

"I see. This is a very strange pattern of thought."

"It's not strange, we tell ourselves that there will always be time for things later, but there's always the chance there won't be a later." Joker said. "Mortality has a way of making you think that" EDI thought about this, organics pushed ahead regardless of fear, a machine of logic couldn't really understand, but it was just something more to learn. Her anxiety didn't go away, but she at least felt a little better.

"Organics are such strange creatures…."

Hours later, Shepherd was in the CIC setting the coordinates for the relay. Everyone else was at their post, without the crew to pick up the slack, the team had to do the extra work and rely on the newly unshackled EDI. "The reaper IFF is online, but there is a chance the Normandy won't survive the trip through the relay, once en route we are committed."

Shepherd cracked his neck. "The collectors are about to find out what happens when they piss me off"

"Got it Commander, ETA two hours. I'll let you know when we arrive" Joker said. Shepherd nodded and stepped down and saw Miranda.

"This is it...we're doing it, you did it Shepherd you got us here"

Shepherd smirked. "You mean we got us here, I didn't do it alone" he said. "We can do this"

"I know" she said. "See you on the other side" Miranda saluted, which made him blink in confusion, but returned it. "By the way, the Illusive Man wants to speak with you"

Shepherd sighed. "Oh joy…" he said deadpanned. He walked to conference room, there he was sitting on his throne, comfortably while his people and himself were going into the unknown risking their lives, it continually pissed him off to no end. "TIM…"

"Shepherd I wish I had more information, I don't like you heading into the relay blind, but we don't have much choice"

Shepherd scoffed. "Like that's stopped you before"

"I know we don't agree on many issues, Shepherd, but I want you to remember the big picture, crew or no we have to stop the Collectors before they bleed humanity dry," the Illusive Man said. "For what it's worth I believe you can pull it off."

"I'm not going alone, and we'll make it back, hope that doesn't disappoint you"

TIM smoked a drab. "Not at all, in fact I'm counting on it" he said. "Despite the danger, it is a great opportunity, the first human to go through and survive"

"Opportunity, huh? There's room if you want to give me your location. I'm sure we can pick you up," Shepherd replied dryly.

"It's …tempting, but my place is here, watching Humanity from the shadows" he said. "I'm sure you understand"

Shepherd sighed and shook his head. "No I don't, there's whole galaxy around us and we're just a small part of it, and when the reapers come you're going to have to shove that 'humans only' crap and work with them, and not against them"

"Naïve and dangerous, Shepherd, every race will ultimately look out for their own, everyone, even your precious Tali'Zorah is no different" he said. "As cruel as it sounds, it's just the way things are"

Shepherd snorted. "Well I'll be glad to prove you wrong when I come back" he said walking away.

TIM took a sip of wine. "I look forward to it, until then…Godspeed Shepherd"

_**Review and Comment.**_


	67. Chapter 58a: The Suicide Mission pt1

**Chapter 58a: The Suicide Mission pt.1**

_The Omega 4 Relay is surrounded by hazard beacons and automated warnings. Over the last thousand years many ships have attempted to pass through it, but none have returned. The only ones to pass freely back and forth through the relay are the mysterious Collectors. There are many theories as to why ships never return from Omega 4. Some say there is a black hole at the far end; others (mostly the impoverished underclass of Omega) believe there is some form of earthly paradise. Most, however, simply think that the Collectors capture or destroy those passing through the relay.-Codex _

It was finally time, the Omega-4 relay was staring the Normandy crew in the face, in the next few minutes, and they would either come back as victorious heroes or just another part of the Galactic core."There it is…" Joker said. "No ships ever escaped from that relay, in a way, its kinda exciting"

"Just the challenge for the galaxy's best pilot, wouldn't you say?" Shepherd asked with a smirk.

"Yeah…" he said. Joker then grew serious. "No matter what happens, it's been an honor serving with you, Shepherd"

Shepherd put his hand on Joker's shoulder. "Hey save that for the reapers, we'll get through this"

Joker smirked. "Yeah, we will" He then took a deep breath and opened the com. "Approaching the Omega-4 relay, everyone standby"

"It's showtime…" Joker worked his magic on the controls and the Normandy flew to the red relay.

"Reaper IFF activated. Signal acknowledged" EDI said. The com came up.

"Commander, the core just lit up like Christmas tree…" Jacob said.

"Drive core electrical charge at critical levels"

"Keep monitoring it, but keep safe"

"Got it commander." Joker said. "Routing" The Normandy was sync with the relay as the stabilization rings on the relay began to spin rapidly. The ship was bathed in a red mass effect field as it went through the relay; it was always a strange feeling going through a relay, like time and space was being ripped from you. Luckily, it would all be over soon.

"Brace for deceleration" Space and time went back to normal only for the Normandy to careen in to a debris field. "Oh shit!" he said. Joker manages to maneuver the Normandy around the debris. The pilot breathed a sigh of relief. "Too close" Shepherd looked around; they were in the galactic core, instead of the normal darkness of space, the core was bright due to the million or possibly trillions of dying suns. Around them, millions of ships littered the core, most of them ancient a consequence of not having the IFF. EDI theorized that the Reaper IFF triggers advanced safety protocols in the Omega 4 Relay, which would ensure a ship survived coming into close range of the black hole.

"Nice thought…." Joker said with a shudder.

"Well, we're not going to be part of it" EDI spoke up.

"I have detected energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk" As the debris cleared, they could see it, the collector base in all of its unholy glory. The collector base looked like a giant version of the collector ship they have seen. Behind the base, was black hole, it looked like EDI's theory about it using mass effect technology to keep it stabilized was correct.

"Take us in, nice and easy" The Normandy came in closer, careful to not alert base just yet. Little did they know, four unknown objects were stalking them like prey, luckily they didn't count on EDI keeping an eye on things.

"Jeff, we have company" When their cover was blown, the unknown stalkers attacked, the Normandy dodged their fire. Using its superior maneuvering and the debris field it was able to take one of them out, however the destruction of one alerted three more of their friends. Now they had a clear view of them, they looked like giant metal eye balls; they were first line of defense for the collector base. The Oculus as EDI dubbed them, fired on the Normandy, Joker made the ship climb and one of the oculus was destroyed by friendly fire. The metal eye ignored their fallen ally and pursued the Normandy, using the debris field to try to cut off the ship.

"These guys are pissing me off" Joker growled. "EDI, go get 'em girl" Joker takes evasive maneuvers, and fires the side guns taking one of them. The oculus didn't take kindly to that as they open fire on the Normandy's upper hull. The team was rocked hard by the blast.

"Got to love that new plating" Shepherd said.

"Ain't that the truth?" Joker asked. "I'm returning the favor…" The Normandy fired and took out three of the Oculus. The remaining oculi fired at them, with two more joining the fun, the Normandy took a sharp turn into the debris using it as cover. The oculi scattered once more for another ambush attack.

"I think we just pissed them off"

"Good I was looking forward to round two" Joker said with a smirk. Two oculi came at them from the side hoping to box them in, however Joker dove down to dodge their fire and they instead took each other out. All of the sudden the crew got rocked hard. "What the hell was that?"

"Alert, hull breach on cargo deck" Shepherd raised his com as he walked away.

"Jack, Grunt meet me in the cargo deck, we got a friend to welcome" Moments later Shepherd, Jack and Grunt met in the cargo hold. They could here crashing sounds coming from the room, the Oculus was hoping to wreck the Normandy from the inside, too bad it wasn't about to get far. "I always told to control your anger, but this time I need it"

Grunt smashed his fists. "Gladly"

"Those fuckers got my girl, hell yeah I'm pissed" she growled as she glowed blue.

"Let's do this" The team got in there and saw the metal eye up close, it no longer had its wings so it could fit inside the ship. It floated using a mass effect device built-in to its systems. The 'eye' area was a translucent red; they could see a vague humanoid silhouette inside meaning it piloted by a collector and not a VI. The Oculus turned to face them, "I have to say they don't make 'em any uglier than you" The Oculus opened fired causing the team to look for cover, Jack blasted it with shock waves, as Shepherd supported her with warp after warps. Grunt fired on it with incendiary bullets, melting away its armor, however it just glowed and the damage it received was negated. The team continued trying to damage it, but the combination of its repairing speed and it moving out of the holes it created made it difficult.

"Damn that thing is tough, we need a heavy weapon" Jack cursed. Shepherd took out his hydra, its multiple missiles would stop tear into it faster than it could repair and its homing system would sniff it out. The oculus came back into the ship, with its 'eye' glowing ready to fire.

"Covering fire, now" Shepherd said. While he was charging the Hydra, Jack and Grunt caught its attention. The Oculus fired on Jack and Grunt, while they tried to soften its armor, it soon ignored them and went to Shepherd hoping to catch the spectre unguarded. "Got you" Shepherd pulled the trigger and multiple missiles flew in and hit the Oculus, causing it to retreat for now.

Meanwhile, the rest of its friends was wearing on the pilots nerves, they were quickly adapting to Joker's unorthodox tactics and battering the ship's armor "We're sitting ducks out here, I'm going to lose them in the debris field" Joker said over the com. The Normandy climbed upwards where the debris were the thickest, the remaining Oculi chases the Normandy. It was a rough ride as large debris battered the Normandy; luckily the shields seemed to be doing well with deflecting the junk, at least the pilot hoped so.

"I don't believe our shields can handle the impact of that size, Jeff"

Joker smirked. "Well it's a good thing we upgraded" Eventually Joker emerges from the debris field with the remaining Oculus destroyed, save for one which re-enters the cargo hold. "Shepherd, I got rid of our friends, the one in the cargo hold is your problem now"

"Got ya, Jack and Grunt unload on that bastard" Jack got out her shotgun and blasted it with her warp ammo; Grunt gave her support with his Claymore. While the Oculus is preoccupied, Shepherd charges the Hydra and fires. The metal eyeball starts to glow red. "Not in my ship! Jack, blow it away!" The convict gave a vicious smile and gave a full power shockwave out of the ship; she then proceeds to give it a middle finger salute, as it dies.

"Commander, get back up here, we're about to clear the debris field"

"On it Joker" Shepherd went back to the cockpit he was joined by Tali and Miranda.

"Keelah, that thing is big, how are we going to destroy it?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it" Shepherd said. "Find a place to land without drawing attention"

"A bit late for that, they're sending out an old friend" Joker said. A collector ship appeared.

"That thing again" Tali hissed. It was a standoff two years in the making, a showdown with the ship that killed Shepherd, and he was planning to return the favor. It fired as the Normandy made it's approached the bobbed and weaved dodging its fire.

Shepherd smirked. "Show 'em our new teeth, fire the main gun!" The Thanix cannons extended, ready to fire, a light blue laser came out tearing through the ship like a hot knife through butter.

"Karma's a bitch ain't it, shitheads?" Joker said with glee.

"Time to finish it, get in close"

"Everyone hold on, it going to be a bumpy ride" The collector ship let loose its guns as the Normandy preceded to out maneuver it. The Normandy targeted the center of the ship. "Checkmate, give 'em hell girl" Joker said. The Normandy fired easily destroying the Collector Cruiser at range.

"Look out!" Miranda said. Once the Collector Cruiser is destroyed, the resulting explosion overloads the Normandy's systems and sends the ship in a crash-landing onto the exterior of the Collector base.

"EDI, give me something"

"Generators unresponsive" EDI said. The lights flickered on and off, there was subtle smell of smoke coming from some of the terminals, but otherwise the ship was ok. Shepherd was the first to get off the floor followed by Tali and Miranda.

"Everyone's all right?"

"Ungh…think I broke a rib or all of them" Joker said in pain.

"Core systems overloaded during crash, I can repair it, but it will take time"

Miranda sighed. "We all knew it was going to be a one way trip"

"The collectors are dead, but I plan on living to talk about it"

"And that's why you're in charge…" Joker muttered. Shepherd raised a brow.

"What was that Joker?"

"Uh…what's next?"

"How long until the collectors find the ship?"

"I don't detect any internal security devices on the base, my guess is the Collectors didn't expect anyone to reach the base"

"If we're lucky, their internal sensors were hit like ours. They may think we're dead"

"Which means the element of surprise is on our side" Shepherd said. "Joker, call everyone up. We need a plan" Shepherd and the crew gather in the Normandy's briefing room. The team prepare for the final mission, there was uncertainty if they would see the mission through alive, but they just focused on the here and now.

"This isn't how we planned it, but here's where we're at" he said. "EDI" A large holographic map of the Collector base appeared. The cursor moved to the center of the base.

" You should be able to overload their critical systems, if you can get to the main control center here"

"That's the heart of the station, pass this energy signature to the right" Jacob said.

"That's the central chamber, our crew and the colonists are there, hopefully alive" Kaiden said. Jacob continued and two lines appeared on the ship.

"Looks like we have two paths, it might be a good idea to split up and keep the collectors off-balance and then regroup in the central center"

Miranda shook her head. "Both are blocked, we'll need someone to open them from the other side"

"Then we look for another way, these guys are strong, but they're not invincible" Shepherd said. He then pointed to the center. "What about the vents?"

"Practically a suicide mission, I volunteer" Jacob said.

"Thanks, but no, we need someone with tech skills to do this"

"I'll do it" Tali said.

Shepherd frowned. "No way, rookie"

"You said it yourself you need someone with tech skills, Legion would be more useful watching your back" She said. "I can do this, trust me, Wayne"

Shepherd sighed. "I do, we'll come and get you as fast we can"

"I know"

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should keep their attention from Tali"

"I'll lead the second team, Shepherd. We'll…" Jack interrupted her.

"Like anyone wants to take orders from you, cheerleader" Jack said. Miranda glared at her.

"This isn't popularity contest! Lives are at stake!"

"Enough! Garrus you're leading the second team" Shepherd said.

The turian nodded. "Got it boss"

"Anyone else want to complain?" The room was silent. "Good"

Shepherd sighed. "Once we start we'll be in a den of lions. If we're weak, if we're slow, if we hesitate, we will die" he said. "The collectors dared to come on our ship and take our friends, we'll show them that payback's a bitch, they declared war on us, we will not only finish it, but we will make them regret it"

"No more running and no waiting" he said. "Let's kick their asses and send a message to the masters, no one fucks with our galaxy"  
"Move out!"

"AYE-AYE!"


	68. Chapter 58b: The Suicide Mission pt2

**Chapter 58b: The Suicide Mission pt.2**

As the team was getting to their places, Shepherd was with Tali, possibly saying goodbye to his lover, a feeling he hated. "Damn it I don't like this…"

Tali held him tightly. "I know, but I'll be fine, I know you will get me out" she said.

Shepherd sighed. "The mission can't fail…" he said. "Whatever happens, I love you"

"I love you too…" Tali got to her place. Kaiden came up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We got to go"

"Yeah…" he said sadly. The team then disembarks from the Normandy and enters the station.

_The Collector Base is a massive space station located in the galactic core on the accretion disk of a black hole. Home to countless Collectors, Seeker swarms, and Collector-controlled Husks, Abominations and Scions, it also houses the Collector General, who is directly controlled by the Reaper Harbinger. The base can only be reached via the Omega 4 Relay and is surrounded by the Tartarus Debris Field, a vast debris field made up of the wrecks of ill-fated ships who tried to access the relay. Within the debris field, several Oculi hide, waiting to ambush intruding vessels.-Codex _

The team came out of the Normandy, Garrus and his team on the other side, Tali in the middle and Shepherd, Kaiden, and Legion on the right side. Garrus went down their path first due to being the distraction. Tali was next and she went into the vent not far from the Normandy, Shepherd and his team went on their path last. The start of the mission was relatively uneventful, Shepherd and his team was getting Tali through with relative ease, much to the relief of the spectre. He had to bury a lover on Mindoir; he made sure he wasn't going to do it again. The first area was clear of Collectors until they reach a fork in the road, the Collectors swooped in and opened fired.

"Damn it!"

"Wayne, are you alright?!" Tali asked.

"No worries, rookie, we got company, Legion knocked them out before they land"

"Affirmative" Legion said as it shot multiple collectors in the head. More Collectors joined the fight, Kaiden used his throw field to knock them out of the sky. Shepherd used his cryo blast to freeze their wings, making them drop to the pit below, however while they were watching the sky, the Collectors came from secret doors along the path. Legion summoned its drone to lockdown the collectors Kaiden then used the Blackstorm blow them away. Shepherd pressed the panel to allow Tali to get through and them team followed. The next area was a more open area full of beehive like platforms; they heard the buzzing of the Collectors, with one of them glowing.

"WE ARE YOUR SALVATION THROUGH DESTRUCTION" Harbinger blasted his singularity field at the team, Shepherd and Kaiden ducked, but Legion wasn't so lucky as it was now stunned. The Collector fired at Legion.

"Shepherd Commander, we are under fire!" Shepherd and Kaiden used their stasis to freeze the Collector drones. The spectre then used his throw field to push them off the ledge; they were on a timetable after all. Harbinger fired off more biotic blasts as he slowly approached the team, more buzzing came from the side to replace the fallen ones.

"WE HAVE RESERVES, KILL ONE AND TWO MORE WILL TAKE ITS PLACE"

"Shit…" Shepherd growled. He raised his com. "How are you doing?"

"My way is blocked, and the heat is starting to rise" Shepherd eye went wide and saw the control panel, right behind collector lines, the last one. The collectors fired when they has bead on Shepherd, and Harbinger came to the side trying to flank them. Shepherd did have time for this, not with Tali's life on the line; Shepherd threw a warp field at Harbinger and added gun fire from his shotgun when it got close, dissolved into dust.

"On my way, Tali, just hang on" Shepherd said. "Legion, combat drone, lead the collectors away from the control panel"

"Wayne, that's crazy, even if you got there, the Collectors will mow you down" Kaiden said.

"I'm not letting her die in this place, I won't!" Shepherd said as moved towards the control panel. As he moved, he can hear Tali's voice getting weaker as the heat started to rise. Legion per Shepherd's order summoned his combat drone, to lead them away from Shepherd; Kaiden put the straggles into a stasis bubble freezing them and then detonated it with a warp field. Shepherd took control of one of the Collectors as he made it to the control panel. Opening the vents also opened the door, for Shepherd and the team. Just in time too, as the collectors started to fly in behind them, Legion directed it drone to the spot they landed on and detonated while Kaiden gave cover fire. As the door closed, Shepherd pulled Tali out of the vents; she was weak, but alive.

Shepherd held her tightly. "You did good, rookie, but don't you ever scare me like that again, got it"

Tali touched his face. "Never again" she said softly. Shepherd's com broke through, it was Garrus.

"Boss, it getting hot out here, they're sending reinforcements our way, you need to get the door open now"

"Legion, open that door, move it" Legion moved to the door panel and his fingers worked like lightning speed to get the door open. The door opened letting Garrus and his team in; however hot on their heels were swarms of collector troops. Leading them was Harbinger.

"YOU WILL KNOW PAIN"

"Don't let them get in, Suppressive fire!" Garrus said. They fired at collector troops, until the door was closed the door.

"Nice work, Legion, knew we could count on you" Shepherd said breathlessly. "You too, Garrus"

"No problem, boss" Miranda spoke up.

"Shepherd, you should take a look at this" Shepherd and the team walked to Miranda location, his eyes grew wide at the sight of it, collector pods littered the walls. Inside one of them, was a woman with dark red. Kaiden walked to the pod to get a better look, his eye went wide.

"My god, Lilith" Kaiden said.

Shepherd looked at his friend. "You know this girl?"

Kaiden nodded. "One of the colonists I got to know on Horizon" he said. Tali spoke up.

"Wayne, there are more pod, we found the crew"

"Good now we need to figure out how to get them all out"

"Wayne, look!" Shepherd looked at the pod with Lilith in it, the woman opened her eyes. Looked around with fear in her eyes,sShe began started to bang on the hatch, screaming and crying trying to get out.

"She's still alive!" Before Shepherd and Kaiden could free her, blood splattered on the see through hatch, the two men could only look on in horror as the victim in the pod stirs and screams as she is liquefied. Though it is too late for her, it was not for Shepherd's crew. "Get them the fuck out of there, now!" Shepherd ordered. The team worked desperately to make sure their crew didn't share the same grim fate, but the pods were stronger than they looked, and some of them team had to resort to using their weapons to open the pod. First Kelly was pulled out, and then Dr. Chakwas until everyone was pulled out, however it was hard to focus due to the screams of the other colonists as they were liquefied. Mordin treated the crew, as they were groggy after waking, Kaiden said that was normal as it happened to him when he was captured by the Collectors on Horizon it was so even if they got out, their response time would lessen to make it easy to recapture their victims.

"Doc? Are you okay?" Shepherd asked concerned.

"Shepherd? You…you came for us" she said in awe.

"I don't leave my people behind" Shepherd said helping her up. Kelly spoke up.

"Those poor people, we….we saw them…get" She couldn't her words out and sobbed onto Jack's shoulder.

Jack kissed her forehead. "We know, Red, we know…" she said softly as she embraced her.

"The colonists were…processed; they melted….their bodies and pumped it through these tubes"

"But why? Why would machines need our DNA?"

Chakwas shook her head. "I don't know, I'm just glad you got here before it happened to us"

"So are we, but we got a job to do" Miranda said. "We've done well so far, but we need to finish the job"

Shepherd nodded. "First things first. Joker? Can you get a fix on our location?"

"Roger that, Commander, all those tubes leads to the main control room above you" he said. "One path is blocked"

"And the other?" EDI spoke up.

"The other is overrun with seeker swarms, I would not recommend that one, Mordin' countermeasure would not be enough"

"Wait, back on Horizon, remember when I freed myself from the collectors?" Kaiden asked. "When my body was full of biotic energy when I was freed, the seeker swarms didn't seem to notice me "

"Genius, it would not be able to protect everyone, but a small team might be able to get through if they stayed close" Samara said. "And I volunteer.

Shepherd nodded. "Good to have on board." He said. "Tali and Jack, you're with me" The two women nodded. "Garrus, you're leader again, can you handle it?

"No problem, boss, Kaiden I'll need some help managing a big group" Garrus said. Kaiden nodded.

"We'll open the door from the other side and meet you there. That just leaves you guys"

"Commander? We have enough systems online to do a pickup, but we'd need to land back from your position"

"Not an option, I'm sending someone back to escort the crew" Shepherd said.

"I shall do it Shepherd, crew may need medical examination, anyway" Mordin said.

"You heard that, Joker?"

"Yeah, sending coordinates"

"We all got our assignments, move out!" As the team move ahead, only Kelly and Jack remained.

"Come back to me…" Kelly said with tears in her eyes.

Jack kissed her on the lips. "Promise, Red" she said. They went their separate ways. Shepherd and team went into the chamber, there was safe point just before the larger chamber, on they got there they saw what they were against. EDI wasn't kidding when she said the chamber was swarming with them, if the barrier somehow broke, nothing would stop them from carrying them away. The com broke through.

"We're in position on our end" Garrus said.

"So are we, Samara" The justicar nodded and small barrier enveloped the team. "Move out" As they move into the room they saw the swarms outside the bubble and hitting it on occasion, but it was nothing to worry about…yet. They went farther down the path, no sign of Collectors yet, but that would change soon.

Tali shuddered. "I can see why humans have such fears of insects…"

"Yeah, after this, I'll never make fun of people with bug phobias ever again" Jack spoke up.

"Speaking of bug…Incoming!" As the collectors flew in, the team went to cover, but instead of firing on them, they went to the left in the middle of the seeker swarm, they hoped to get the team off-balance so the seeker swarms could pick them apart.

"I cannot fight like this, my apologies, Shepherd" Samara said.

"Don't worry about it, just stay down" Jack pulled the Collectors out of cover, allowing Shepherd to shut down the enemy with a warp field. Tali summoned her drone to draw fire from the team. Shepherd then hears a booming voice.

"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!" Harbinger once again made an appearance and was the only one to try to run up the ramp to flank them.

"Shit, not you again!" Shepherd said.

The spectre took control of one of the collectors to open fire on Harbinger. Shepherd threw a warp field turning the glowing husk into dust. When the fight ended, they moved on. The walk was a short one however as they came under attack again. As Samara moves toward the next cover, a few husks and abominations crawled up to charge the team.  
However, they appeared at some distance making it very easy to take them out at range. It was not over, Several Collectors flew overhead, with one being possessed by Harbinger in mid-flight - this was not what the team needed as a Scion came from the shadows, followed by more husks. They were surrounded.

"Shit" Harbinger spoke.

"YOU WILL FAIL SHEPHERD, AND YOUR CYCLE WILL FALL!"

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	69. Chapter 58c: The Suicide Mission pt3

**Chapter 58c: The Suicide Mission pt.3**

This was bad, the team was surrounded by the collectors on one side, husks and a Scion on another, and Harbinger in front of them, to make matters worse they were in the middle of a room filled with seeker swarms. Jack used her shockwave to blow away the approaching husks, while Shepherd and Tali dealt with the Collectors and Harbinger. Shepherd threw the collectors off the ledges, killing them, mowing down the collectors was easy enough, if it wasn't for the fact the two biggest annoyances was still alive. Tali summoned her drone, to distract Harbinger, allowing Shepherd to get the Cain out.

"Get down" Shepherd said. Jack and Tali got to cover as Shepherd pulled the trigger, the recoil knocked the spectre down, as the room lit up from the explosion, when the dust cleared the Scion and Harbinger were all gone.

"Well done, Commander" Samara said.

"Thanks, how are you holding up?"

"I am fine, Shepherd, centuries of training has its advantages" she said. The team moved up the chamber, as they moved the com broke through; it was Garrus in the middle of a fire fight. And from the sounds of it, they were facing a lot of Collectors.

"Nice shooting!" Garrus said. Kaiden voice could also be heard, but not as loud as Garrus, he was deep in the battle also. "Thane, push them off the ledge!"

"Legion Combat drone, don't let the husks get close!" There was then a scream of pain, but Shepherd couldn't make it out from the sounds of gunfire. "Kasumi, fall back! Grunt take her place!" he said. "Zaeed switch to sniper rifle, back up Miranda and Jacob!"

"Look like things are going well" Tali said.

"It was a good move for Garrus to share leadership duties with Kaiden" Shepherd said "We may get out of this yet" As they continued to walk, he then saw the barrier staring to wane, he looked back at Samara who looked little pale. "Samara you alright?"

"My apologies, Commander, the swarms constant barrage had more of an effect than I thought" she said. Samara glowed and the barrier reinforced itself, Shepherd looked at Samara with concern as she was panting heavily. This was probably the first time in her many centuries that the Justicar been tested like this, that she had to use her powers this much. Samara gave a weak smile. "Don't worry Shepherd, I will be fine, this is child's play compared to my Justicar training" Shepherd didn't really believe her, but nodded nonetheless. Jack spoke up.

"Yo, Boy Scout, ahead of us!" This time they were only attacked by Husks, a Scion and Abominations. The Husks and Abominations swarmed the squad, only to be blasted away by Jack's shockwave; Tali killed any husks that get close, with her shotgun. Shepherd blasted the scion with warp fields; he then took control of an abomination and ordered the husk to explode right near the scion. The Scion fired off a shockwave of its own, Shepherd and Jack got in front and weaken the shockwave, Tali summoned her drone to distract the scion. The two biotics then took out their pistols armed with Jack's warp ammo and fired on the distracted husk while Chatika shocked them from the front. The combination of gunfire and Tali's drone finally went down. With the scion dead, the team moved to exit.

The team was close, but then the barrier falters again. Shepherd looked at Samara, the justicar was pale and on her knees, she was now almost entirely exhausted, strained to their limits by maintaining the field. Shepherd crouched down and held her up, with them this thick into the seeker swarms they couldn't waver. "Just hang on, we'll be there soon"

"I know, Commander" she said with a weak smile. More husks came out, the long walk was here, with no cover and Samara weakening, this was possibly the last stand. The husks rushed the team.

"Switch to shotguns, no one gets near Samara" Shepherd ordered. Tali and Jack nodded. Tali summoned her drone, as Jack blasted the husks away with shockwaves. Shepherd used his singularity field to trap the husks, it was a little smaller and weaker than usual as he was holding up Samara, luckily Tali was there to pick up the slack with her geth shotgun. The team then heard growling from behind, more husks and Abomination were coming at them; Shepherd got his pistol out and shot them in the head.

"Jack!" She gave a full power shockwave down the middle and the path was clear. Now it was a race, as the team made a dead sprint to the door as the husks, kept coming only to be gunned down by, the team. "Tali door!"

"Right!" the quarian's three fingers worked fast, and the door opened. Jack killed another swath of husks with her shockwave, while Shepherd trapped them in a stasis bubble. But the growls grew louder as the horde grew.

"Shit! Hurry it up Bucket!" Jack cursed. Jack took out the firestorm and burned the husks as they got closer. They then heard a beep.

"It's opened, hurry!" Tali was the first to get in, then Jack, and then Samara and Shepherd. As Tali tried to get the door closed, Samara turned around and gives a very strong biotic force sending the swarms and husks flying, as the door closes. Samara sat down to catch her breath, along with Jack. The com broke through.

"Boss…it's time to get us out of here"

"I copy, what's your position?" Shepherd asked. "Pinned down at the door, no casualties, but that might change soon, we need to get in now"

"Right, rookie!" Tali nodded and went to the door's panel, and opened the door. Shepherd and the team cover them and as Garrus and the others enters. Tali quickly closed the doors, everyone was safe, except Garrus… he leaned against the far wall holding his side. "Garrus!" Shepherd came to his side, worried for his friend.

The turian got up to reveal the side of his armor was grazed but not damaged and he smirked as he rubbed his side. "Thank the spirits for shields, eh?"

Shepherd shook his head at his lame attempt at a joke. "Smartass" he brought up his omni-tool. "Joker how's everything at your end?"

"Here commander, Mordin and the rest of the crew are safely on the Normandy" he said. "And the ship's is almost repaired, just waiting for you and the ground team" Shepherd gave a sigh of relief, other than the close calls, so far the mission has been a success. He hoped their luck would hold out and they could blow this hell hole station sky-high, and get out alive.

"Excellent, now let's make it count, EDI, next step" Miranda said.

"There should be some platforms nearby that will take you to the main console, from there you can overload the system and destroy the base"

"Commander, you got a problem, hostiles are massing outside the door, won't be long before they bust through" Joker said.

Shepherd nodded and stood on the platform. "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the collectors from overwhelming us"

"Pick a team to go with you Shepherd, everyone else can bunker down and cover you" Miranda said.

Shepherd nodded. "Rookie, Kaiden, ready for the final fight?" Kaiden and Tali stood on the platform with him.

"Do you even have to ask?" Tali asked with a smirk.

"We're behind you, all the way" Kaiden said.

Shepherd took a deep breath. "As your leader, I am deeply, deeply proud of all of you, you stood together and held the line, and the collectors never stood a chance against the best of the best. That's you." He said. "I don't know if they can feel fear, but we are going to make damn sure they learn it, this is it the home stretch, this is where we make our final stand"

"Today, we will avenge the lost, move out!"

"AYE-AYE!"

"Good luck, Commander!" Miranda said with a salute.

Shepherd smirked. "Don't need luck, I got a team" he said as the platform moved away. The final battle was upon them. It also seems the enemy was making their final stand also. "Let's do this!" The platforms came in flying with collector troops, the fight was long and hard, and at times it seemed the collectors had the upper hand, but due to chaos in their base, they were more disorganized than usual. The last platform contained three Abominations and two Scions, their last defense fell quickly leading them to main chamber, where they made a horrific discovery.

"Keelah..." was all Tali could say.

It had the skeletal upper torso of a human being, but on an enormous scale. It hung from huge chains with long tubes extending from the ceiling and into its back and inside those tubes was a deep red substance being pumped into the horror. Where a living thing would have white-brown bone, this monstrosity was all dark metal, baleful orange energy pulsing dimly through the gaps in the shape.

"What…the hell…?" Kaiden asked in disgust.

"It's a reaper…they took whole colonies to make that abomination!" Shepherd growled

"Not even the geth would go this far…" Tali said. "It must die"

"But how?" EDI spoke up.

"I did some scans of the reaper, the tubes injecting the fluid is a structural weak spot, destroying them should cause the reaper to fall." Without a second thought, each of them drew their weapons and took aim, firing as one. Mass accelerator rounds slammed into the tubes in rapid succession, first showing only cracks but each hit spread the damage farther until they shattered completely, raining tiny pieces of composite glass over the platform. With an enormous groan the other metal supports buckled and almost in slow motion the Reaper fell away and into the pit beneath them. Shepherd nodded to Tali and the quarian began her access of the main core, the center panel open and a black and gold cylinder device rose up. Shepherd moved in, despite being reaper tech, the device was surprisingly simple to figure out even for someone who was not tech-savvy as he was.

"Shepherd to ground team, status report"

"Boss, we're holding our own, but they keep coming, we need an exit plan and soon" Garrus said.

"We're done here, head for the Normandy, Joker prep the engines, I'm blowing this thing to hell"

"Uh? Commander? I got a signal incoming, it's TIM, patching it through"

"What does that bosh'tet want?" Tali asked. TIM's image came through.

"Shepherd, you've done the impossible"

"I was part of a team; I couldn't have done it without them"

"They were valuable assets, they destroyed the collectors and given us the single most valuable resource.

Shepherd looked back at him with a frown. "Excuse me?"

"I've done the calculations; a staggered neutrino burst would kill all the Collectors on the station but leave its technology intact."

"You want to keep it? You're nuts, we saw what they did to humans in this place" Kaiden said.

"It was unfortunate yes, but with this technology, we now have the edge against the Reapers" TIM said.

"This tech is too tainted to be used, why won't you get that through your head?" Tali said. "Is power all you care about?"

"Quiet, Quarian! This is humanities' chance, Shepherd we can advance humanity hundreds of years technologically in a matter of months!"

"No deal, Thousands of people lost their lives here in this place that was built who knows when." Shepherd growled. "It would be an insult to their memory to use the very thing that killed them and used them to build a reaper"

"You fool! You would let your idealism blind you to what needs to be done! You would doom us all!" TIM said angrily.

"No. I will not let fear compromise who I am. I won't win the war at the cost of humanity's soul," Shepherd said. He tinkered with the device until it glowed red, in sixty minutes the core would overcharge and explode taking out the whole base. "We're done here"

"You will regret this, Shepherd!"

Shepherd smirked. "I think not, and by the way, you can take this as my official resignation from Cerberus, good-bye and fuck off"

"Shep-"transmission was cut.

"Oops, my fingers must have slipped." Tali said with a smirk. Shepherd smirked as he dropped the core back into the panel. The platform shook suddenly, almost knocking the team from their feet.

"What the hell was that?" Shepherd asked.

"Wayne look!" Kaiden said in horror.

Shepherd's eyes went wide as dark grey hand appeared on the platform. The infant Reaper that he thought they had sent falling to its destruction pull itself up over the edge. Half a dozen drones fly up in front of it, alighting on the platform directly in front of them. At their center was the familiar glowing orange form.

"**SEE YOUR DESTRUCTION GIVEN FORM AND TREMBLE!**" Harbinger said. "**SUFFER!"**

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	70. Chapter 59: A New Beginning

**Chapter 59: A New Beginning**

It was supposed to be a celebration, it was supposed to be a victory, but it didn't feel like that to Tali. They had just defeated the Collectors, the crew was saved, Shepherd was freed from Cerberus, and the monstrosity of the Collector base was destroyed, but at a steep price. Tears ran down her face as she saw Mordin and Chakwas work on Shepherd's battered body, working to save his life.

She had been an emotional wreck since coming back to the Normandy, afraid for her lover's live, she lost him two years ago, and now it looked like it would happen again. She had wanted to stay with Shepherd, but Chakwas said they needed room to work. Next to her was Kasumi trying best to comfort her, Tali knew she was also worried, she had just met her cousin, and it looked like she could lose Shepherd, before she really got to know him.

Tali felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Garrus. "How's the boss?"

She shook her head. "Nothing's change, a few close calls, but…" she said softly.

"He's going to make it, Tali, don't lose faith" Kaiden said.

"He'll make it, only to jump right back into the reaper conflict" she said bitterly. "Why can't he just live a happy life? He lost his family, his life, and now his arm, what else does he have to lose, before the galaxy's satisfied?!" She walked away, Kaiden tried to stop her, but Garrus shook his head.

"Let her go, Kaiden, she just needs time"

Tali came into their cabin, and cried on their bed. "Please Wayne, come back to me, I…can't lose you again…."

_**Hours Before**_

_**"SEE YOUR DESTRUCTION GIVEN FORM AND TREMBLE"**__ Harbinger said. __**"SUFFER!" **__ The Reaper opened its mouth, with a mismatched trio of now brightly glowing eyes looking at them with what could only be described as a burning hatred. A red stream of light was fired at the team as they went into cover. With the base becoming a ticking bomb, they couldn't afford to waste time._

"_Rookie, Kaiden I've got one charge left, if keep that thing occupied, I can end this" Shepherd said. Tali and Kaiden nodded and went into action. Tali summoned her drone to distract the collectors, while Kaiden focused on Harbinger. As for Shepherd, he tried to get a lock, but the reaper larva moved too fast. When it was about to fire, he saw his chance; he got of cover and charged the Cain._

_"It's going to fire again!" Tali yelled as she got back down behind her cover, "Wayne, get down!"_

_The Reaper was on the brink of unleashing another barrage, when the Cain finally launched its projectile. In an instant, it impacted the great machine; right in the opening of its mouth, where it had prepared its own attack. An immense explosion erupted within the Reaper's head._

_The force of the blast made the platform unstable causing entire platform bend and tilt at a steep angle. Both Shepherd and Kaiden managed to get some sure footing on one of the unaffected, connecting platforms, but Tali were not so lucky. She lost her balance and fell, and went sliding down, in the direction of the falling Reaper._

_"NO!" Shepherd yelled as he dived forward after her._ _He watched in terror as he saw her sliding away, kicking down with her feet while her arms flailed, desperately trying to grab onto something—anything—in a futile attempt to preserve her life. She held on to a ledge holding on for dear life. She slid off the edge, and all but her extended, sinking hand disappeared from view only for Shepherd to grab her arm and struggled to pull her up._

"_Wayne behind you!" Kaiden yelled. Shepherd looked behind him and saw a runaway platform knocking them off the platform. "WAYNE, TALI!" Kaiden said in horror. The major did not have long to wait as his platform went down also, everything went black._

_**Now**_

"Creator Zorah" a voice snapped her out of her memory.

"What? C-come in" Legion came in the room. Tali frowned, although the geth had helped a lot on the mission that meant by no means that she trusted it. Nor did she want to see it. "Legion, what do you want? I'm not in the mood"

"Apologies, Creator Zorah, but we wanted your query"

"On what?"

"The restoration of Shepherd-Commander's arm"

"What?" Tali looked at Legion; she couldn't believe it wanted to help. But then she remembered that the reapers were a threat to them also. Tali then scoffed, to the geth, Shepherd was just another resource to them just them. But then Legion said something surprising.

"A consensus has been reached within the geth network, we wish to restore Shepherd-Commander's arm, we too find this…upsetting" the geth said. Tali blinked, Legion almost sounded upset, like a friend would…Tali shook her head, it must have been her imagination and Legion continued. "Our data indicates, there is more than enough materials to make a new arms, however we needed your permission as you are Shepherd-Commander's mate"

Tali blushed. "I…Okay, let's do it, call Lia up here and were can get started."

"Acknowledged"

_**Hours Before**_

_Shepherd his eyes and looked around him, as he tried to get up he felt a sharp pain from his shoulder down. He takes a look and saw that he was impaled by the debris in his shoulder, he couldn't move, not without tearing his arm from his body. He looked around, and saw three fingers not moving, his blood ran cold, it was Tali, and she wasn't moving._ _He then heard a booming voice. _

"_**SHEPHERD, YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE" **__Harbinger said._

"_Shit" He had to get to Tali and Kaiden and get the hell out, but with his arm bound, they were as good as dead. Shepherd took a deep breath and pulled out of the debris, the pain was beyond his imaging as he screamed and he almost passed out from the pain he was feeling. After he was freed he took a syringe of medi-gel, to stop the pain. He looked to his right, he was now missing an arm, and blood was everywhere, his sight was dimming from the blood loss, but he couldn't worry about that he had to get Tali and Kaiden out there, he may die, but he would die seeing his friends alive. Shepherd moved to Tali in front of him, trying to keep from blacking out, there was large debris on top of her and went to push it off of her. He had to stop from exhaustion, but tried again until he was able to push it off of her. _

"_Tali, Tali, come on rookie, wake up" She didn't respond, which made Shepherd worried, "Come on, baby girl…you can't die…not here" Shepherd shook Tali until she came to. Shepherd smiled weakly "Good…."She then screamed._

"_KEELAH, YOUR ARM, YOUR ARM!" she said in horror. Shepherd calmed her down; they couldn't alert the Collectors now, with them vulnerable. _

"_I know, rookie, I don't think I'm going to make it" he said oddly calm. "I want you to get Kaiden and get the hell out of here"_

"_Not without you!" She said in tears._

"_Don't argue with me, Tali, I'm barely able to stand, I'll only slow you down" Shepherd said weakly. "Go please" _

"_She's right, Wayne, not without you" Shepherd turned his head, it was his friend Kaiden, bloodied with his ribs broken, but alive. "Tali get him to the Normandy, I cover you the best I can"_

"_But…"_

"_I told you, we're leaving together Wayne" Kaiden said. "It broke us, when you died two years ago, you weren't just our leader, you were family, and we're not going through that again"_

"_Stubborn idiots, the both of you…." Shepherd said._

_Tali held him tightly. "Only because we got from you" Tali half-joked. The team ran down the corridor, Kaiden covered them as Tali held Shepherd's battered body as they went back to the Normandy. The Collectors were alerted of their presence and chased them down to meeting point. One of the Collectors fired at them, and Kaiden blocked it with his barrier and then blew them back with a throw. He then took out the blackstorm, and pulled the trigger, the black hole sucked in the collectors allowing them to push farther along the path. However Shepherd was faltering, Kaiden gave him more medi-gel to keep him running and then he held Shepherd up to help him get to the ship. Afterwards, they heard buzzing from seeker swarms._

"_They're catching up to us!" Kaiden said. All of the sudden, a missile hit the corridor behind them and path behind them fell stopping the swarm and Collectors from advancing; it was Joker with a missile launcher. The team was able to get to the Normandy, just in time as the rubble shook apart with great force from a yellow biotic force._

"_Holy shit, Commander!" Joker said helping Shepherd in. _

"_YOUR STUGGLE IS FUTILE!" Harbinger said. Kaiden went in and took the missile launcher and fired at the Collectors. Harbinger however kept coming firing biotic blasts at the team, Kaiden fired the last three shots on the platform and caused the possessed Collector to fall to its death. Kaiden sighed a breath of relief and walked back in._

"_Joker, get to the cockpit" Kaiden then walked away to help Tali with Shepherd._

"_Right" Joker said getting to the cockpit. "EDI, get us the hell out of here!" The Normandy surged forward, out and away from the station, just in time for the base to turn into a brilliant fireball._

_**Now**_

Shepherd woke up in the med-bay, the light was blinding to his eyes, and he looked around the room, he sighed, he was alive he was missing an arm, but alive, they had survived the mission, giving a small smile. His left then felt something cold. Shepherd looked to his right and saw a sliver-gray metal arm in place of his original arm. I looked at lot like Saren artificial arm, except it had five fingers and a lot more streamline. He then hear a light snore and turn his head it was a sleeping Tali near his bed.

"Tali, hey rookie, wake up" The Quarian woke up, her first sight being the man she loved awake, tears streamed from her eyes, and hugged him tightly.

"Wayne!" she said as sobbed. Shepherd kissed her and calmed her down. He smiled as his own tears ran down his face, they were alive and that was all that matters.

"I'm okay, we're okay…" he said softly.

"I…I was so….scared….that I would…." Shepherd place a finger on her mouth piece.

"You'll never lose me" he said. Tali sniffed and smiled as she hugged him again. "So what with the arm?"

"Me, Lia, and Legion made it for you, I know it's a lot to get used to, but we wanted to do something…."

"Thank you, really, this means a lot, really"

Tali blushed. "Actually, it was Legion's idea, I just gave the permission" Shepherd raised a brow.

"Legion came up with it? That was nice of it"

Tali giggled. "I was surprised too. I asked why it wanted to do this"

"What did it say?"

She sighed. "No data available, I swear, even when it does something nice, I still don't understand it" She then grew serious. "What do we do now? The Collectors are gone, but that still leaves their masters"

"We prepare, it's all we can do" EDI then spoke up.

"If I may, I do have a suggestion"

"What is it?"

"Being free has allowed me to get access to some classified data" she said. "I found one that could be of interest to you"

"What is it?"

"The location of the Shadow Broker" EDI said. "Having his network could be asset"

Shepherd nodded. "Get us to Illium, I'm sure an old friend of would like a crack at him"

"I shall inform Jeff"

Shepherd looked at his new arm. "So what does this thing do?"

"Later, right now get some rest okay…?" Tali said concerned. Shepherd smiled and laid back on the bed, tired from the experience. His eyes grew heavy and he went to sleep, Tali took off her mask and kissed his forehead. "Saya Sayang Kamu, jiwa" she said softly.

_**Saya Sayang Kamu: Keelish for I love you**_

_**Jiwa: Keelish for 'my heart and hope'**_

_**New Arm…New Adventures… Review and Comment**_


	71. Chapter 60:Lair of the Shadow Broker pt1

**Chapter 60: Lair of the Shadow Broker pt.1**

"Okay again" Tali said with a mini-terminal in her hand. Shepherd was in the cargo hold testing out his new arm; despite being made of metal it was surprisingly light along with being durable. Legion explained earlier, that the components of the arm were the same as the geth hoppers the Normandy crew fought two years ago. They had worked hard to make sure the new arm could be a worthy replacement to his lost arm, even having tactile functions to simulate the sensation of touch. At first it took some getting used to, training himself not to crush everything he held in his hand due to it being stronger than his old arm, but eventually the spectre got the hang of it, he was even able to hold Tali's hand without crushing it to his relief. Next was testing the new combat capabilities…

"Aw come on, rookie, this has been tenth time" Shepherd whined. Tali gave him a look, Shepherd huffed, the quarian could be almost as tough as his drill sergeants from the N7 program. He sighed and shook his head, knowing that it came from a good place. "Fine…" Tali nodded and typed on the terminal, and three hard light dummies appeared. Ever since Joker unshackled EDI, they've discovered new systems from the AI, at first the crew was wary of working with her after all now that she was free, she didn't need them anymore could just kill them like the body would kill germs. But there was nothing to worry about; she trusted Joker and Shepherd to reassure the crew, though it raised some new questions on how they were going to get away with this as AIs were still illegal.

"Starting test, try your Incineration Blast" she said. Shepherd made a fist and his new omni-tool appeared, he aimed his new arm at the dummies, a high-explosive plasma round was fired and the dummies was set on fire "Okay try your cryo blast now" Shepherd fired a mass of super-cooled subatomic particles at the burning dummies and it exploded, usually seeing something like that would be cool, but after ten times it was getting old.

"Are we done? I'm starving…"

"Just a few more tests, Wayne, we have to make sure your arm can withstand combat conditions" Tali said.

"I know, but…"

"Come on, for me…"

Shepherd sighed. "No fair, you know I can't say no to you…" he said shaking his head. "What now?"

"EDI, can you activate the shields?"

"Activating shields now" The dummies were replaced and gave off a blue light, Tali then opened her omni-tool and lowered Shepherd's shields to half.

"Okay try out your energy drain" Shepherd pointed his arm at the shielded dummy and a flash of light happened, recharging his shields. Shepherd nodded, at least now when his shields went down, he didn't have to rely on his tech armor to recharge it. He went over to look at his test result for his new arm, Tali sighed and leaned over the terminal with a frown. "Everything seems to be in order, but I think we should test Lia's omni-blade and flame fist functions"

Shepherd put his hand on her shoulder "Tali, everything's fine, you did everything possible, and you can't test for every outcome…"

"I know, I just want to make sure you have everything you need, after it's…" Tali said softly.

Shepherd hugged her. "Damn it, why do you do this to yourself? It's not your fault I lost my arm, I was in a bad position, that's all" he said. He kissed Tali. "So no more blaming yourself, okay?"

"Okay" EDI spoke up.

"Shepherd, we are coming to Illium in two hours"

"Good just enough time to get something to eat" Shepherd said with a smirk. The Normandy slid into the docks on Illium, for repairs as good as Legion and the engineering crew was, there was only so much they could do as they lost some of the repair equipment from fighting the Oculus and they were used up to get the ship out of the galactic core. Due to the extensive damage, Shepherd shuddered at what the price was going to be, but Miranda seemed to have idea to make it all cheaper and the spectre left it in her hands. Shepherd, Garrus, and Tali came out of the ship and went to see Liara; the financial district was as busy as ever with people on the trading floor were making bets to strike it rich.

"I still can't believe we got info on the Shadow Broker" Garrus said.

"I know, TIM had this info for months, but never did anything with it, so his loss is our gain" Shepherd said.

"Maybe now Li can move on with her life…" the turian said. Tali put her hands on Garrus' shoulder.

"Don't worry, Garrus, that's why we're here" They went to Liara's office, she had no assistant this time, though it was understandable as her last one worked for the Shadow Broker and tried to kill her. The room was now all cleaned up, and with a few new additions it looked bigger. Liara was at her desk working as hard as ever looking for the Shadow Broker while sipping on a small drink from Wendy's, her work station was messy with all the food containers and important documents littering the floor, meaning she was probably camping out in her office, and it looked like the asari hadn't been getting sleep lately. When she saw the team, she looked around and started cleaning her area embarrassed of the mess she made. She came up to Garrus smiling as she embraced him and kissed his mandible and then saw Shepherd's arm, her eyes went wide.

"Goddess, Shepherd what happened to you?" she gasped.

"Lost it in the Omega-4 relay, but I'm alright"

"Then the mission was a success…" she said. Shepherd told the asari the whole story, about losing the crew, the fight in the galactic core, the human reaper, about the creation process, and about TIM's request of the collector base and his resignation from Cerberus. Liara listen with a look of awe on her face, the asari wished she had come and helped before. She also frowned, when she heard The Illusive Man wanted the Collector base, Shepherd had made the right choice there was no telling how dangerous Cerberus would be with the base under their control.

"You did the right thing, Shepherd, that base was an abomination and the Illusive Man showed his true colors when he asked you spare it" she said. "I'm glad you left"

"Me too, so how's your hunt?"

Liara sighed and rubbed her eyes. "He isn't called the Shadow Broker for nothing, every possible lead I find, turns out to be a fake" she said. "But I can assure you, I will find him…" Garrus flinched a little from his bondmate's icy tone; though it was less icy than the first time, it was still something he was not used to. He hoped putting this Shadow Broker thing to a close would bring back the sweet asari he had come to love back.

"Well your search is over, take a look at this" Shepherd handed her the data pad. Her eyes went wide and she stood up.

"Goddess, where did you find this?" she asked.

"Cerberus had data on him for months, we think they were going to hit him, but the collectors then got in the way" Tali said. "Anything you can tell us?"

Liara looked through the data pad. "It's a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker operatives, some hints at his location and…" She then gasped. "Feron, he's….alive!"

"Who's Feron?"

"He helped recover your body, Shepherd, he sacrificed himself to save me, and to save you" she said sadly. "I thought he died"

"Then we rescue him, any friend of yours is a friend of ours" Garrus said. "After all, he saved my bondmate, it's the least I can do"

Shepherd smirked. "Couldn't have said it better myself" he said. "What's the next step?"

"I…I don't know, I need to prepare, to think" she said walking away. Garrus grabbed her arm.

"Are you okay?"

"I spent two years plotting revenge, now I can make it a rescue"

"And we'll help, where's your apartment?"

"Downtown Nos Astra, you'll have to take a cab to get there"

"Then we'll meet you there" Shepherd said. Liara nodded. Shepherd and Tali looked back at Garrus and smirked. Garrus blinked.

"What?"

"Bondmate, huh?" Tali teased. "That sounds official"

Garrus flinched. "S-so?"

"Our little turian has become a man, I'm so proud" Shepherd joked.

"I'm leaving you now" Garrus said annoyed. The team went to Liara's apartment, as advance as Illium was, it had problems of congested traffic which was so long it was night when they made it to the asari's apartment. When they arrived, they saw a holographic police barrier inside the apartment and the police also inside. The room was ransacked, with shattered glass on the floor, bullet holes in the floor and walls and Liara was nowhere to be found which worried the team.

"What happened here?" Tali asked. An asari looked at them, she wore the same uniform as detective Anaya.

"This area is sealed off, please stand back"

"The lady asked you a question, what the fuck happened here?" Shepherd asked angrily. Another asari came up to them, unlike the cops she wore blue and white armor and very advance armor at that. She had purple marks on her face, the way she carried herself oozed strength and confidence like Shepherd.

"Someone tried to kill your friend" she said. "Thank you officer, you are dismissed"

"You can't do that, this is a crime scene"

"Noted officer, you are dismissed" she said with a smile. The smile sent shivers up Shepherd's spine, although it seemed friendly enough, it was anything but it was so cold, and apparently the cop felt the same as she slowly backed away.

"R-right, everyone move out" the cops left leaving the asari and the squad.

"Tela Vasir, spectre" she said. "I heard you were reinstated, I might get you to sign something later, maybe somewhere private" Tali glared at her.

"If you could tell you us what happened here, that would be great" Tali said annoyed. The asari just smirked.

"So I'm guessing you had business with your friend, am I right Commander?

"Liara was following a lead on the Shadow Broker"

"Ambitious, and dangerous" Vasir said, "But she survived, so I guess she has some skills"

"If she's not here, where is she?"

"Don't know, that's what we're here to find out"

Shepherd nodded. "Okay, we should find out" The team spread out to find some clues on where Liara was, after scouring her apartment they didn't find anything which was strange, if Liara was in trouble she would leave a message somewhere to let the team know. Shepherd went upstairs, thinking maybe he missed something, but still nothing…he sighed and sat on Liara's bed trying to think. He looked to his right and found a picture of the Normandy crew, taken just before Virmire, he picked it up. How many times have she looked into the picture wishing it was like the old days, but knowing it could never be? The spectre sighed. It was so much simpler back then…"I miss those days too, Liara" Shepherd said softly. It then changed, to a prothean dig site; Shepherd then realized it was a clue. "Liara you clever girl…everyone, search the Prothean artifacts" He went downstairs and met with the others.

"Why, Wayne?"

"I think she left a clue" Shepherd said searching the artifacts. The others nodded and spread out. He went to a case with prothean vase inside, he searched the outside until he then found a button on the side of the case. He pressed it and a compartment came out and revealed a OSD. "Vasir, I found something" Vasir, Tali and Garrus came to him.

"A backup disk, let's try it on her terminal" Shepherd put it in and it revealed Liara talking to a salarian.

"Looks like she recorded a call"

"What do you got for me Sekat?" Liara asked.

"It was tricky, but you paid for the best" the salarian said smugly.

"You can pat yourself on the back later, tell me what I need to know" She said annoyed.

"No appreciation for an art I see…I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a star system"

"How soon can you have it?"

"Shouldn't take long, you can have it tonight, come by Baria Frontiers, in the Dracon trade center, I'll be in my office" he said. Sekat crossed his arms. "Got to say though, T'Soni…you're making me a little nervous, how big is the trouble that could come from this?"

"Relax, Sekat. I'll see you in a few hours" The call ended.

"She found something big, enough for her to be attacked." Garrus said.

Shepherd looked at Vasir. "Where is the Dracon Trade Center?"

"Not far from here, if we hurry we can make it" She said. "We can take my car" The Dracon Trade Center is an office building in Illium. It contains offices for several corporations, including Baria Frontiers, a corporation which specializes in selling star charts. ExSolar Shipping, the Asari verson of FedEx, Eldfell-Ashland Energy, the human mining company that hired Zaeed and Nezo Transportation, the top space car manufacturer. Vasir's car landed on the pad and they exited to find Liara. "The Baria Fronters offices are on the third floor, I don't hear police chatter, we must have missed the party"

When the squad gets to the top of the stairs, the building explodes causing the team to fall back. "Li's in there!" Garrus said. More explosions happen and the night sky was filled with screams and panic as the smoke rose in the air. The team got up.

"Everyone okay?" Shepherd asked.

"Yeah, we're fine, Wayne" Tali said. She then looked around at the carnage. "Keelah…"

Vasir shook her head. "They just took out three floors to make sure she's dead!" she said. "I'll grab the sky car and sealed of the building from the top" She walked away.

"Then we get the bottom, good I want the bastards that did this" Garrus said angrily. As they went into the building, they could hear the screams and groans, there were a lot of dead bodies on the floor instantly killed from the explosion, along with many injured. In the distance they could hear the sounds of sirens; the authorities could help the people here while they focus on finding Liara. They went inside, smoke was everywhere making it hard for Garrus and Shepherd to see, until the emergency systems kicked in, amazingly it still worked as the fans blew away the smoke and sprinkler extinguished the fires. Once it was clear, they saw even more bodies. Shepherd shook his head at the pointless loss of life, whoever did this would pay dearly, however they wouldn't have long to meet the culprits as they heard gun shots, and the team went to cover.

Shepherd raised his com. "Vasir, I may be late getting to your position" he said. "We got company"


	72. Chapter 61:Lair of the Shadow Broker pt2

**Chapter 61: Lair of the Shadow Broker pt.2**

"Shit these guys are annoying!" Shepherd growled. Whoever these people were, they weren't two-bit thugs, the way they fought suggested military training. And their equipment was nothing to sneeze at either as they were very top of the line, but then again so were the team's weapons. Shepherd used his incinerate to light them on fire, causing them panic, which was perfect for Garrus to get in a few head shots. Chatikka blew up causing the other soldiers to fly. Shepherd took out his arc projector, and aimed at the soldiers in the puddle of water, causing them to fall, and ending the battle. The team went up to examine the corpses of the soldiers, their armor was black with a gold trim, they had no insignia to find out what group they were from.

"Not any uniform I recognize" Garrus said.

"New merc group?" Tali asked.

Garrus shook his head. "No, these guys were too disciplined to be simple mercs"

Shepherd activated his com. "Vasir, we had company down here, soldiers in black and gold uniforms"

"Hmm, black and gold uniforms, the Shadow Broker's agents" she said. "For him to sic his wet work squad, means T'Soni was too close for the Shadow Broker's comfort"

Shepherd frowned. "I see, how are thing on front?"

"I had to deal with same thing, no sign of your friend, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up for debate"

Shepherd sighed. "Right, we'll continue our search, let me know, if you find Liara"

"Understood" The team up the stairs, until Tali saw a grey rectangle in the corner.

"Rookie?"

"Wayne, I think I found the bomb" Shepherd and Garrus went over to her location; Tali carefully examined the bomb and found that it wasn't armed much to their relief. Garrus came up to the bomb.

Garrus frowned. "What the hell?"

"What is it Garrus?"

"I recognize this explosive, the turian hierarchy uses this for missions" Garrus growled. "No one should be able to get their hands on this, no civilian anyway" Shepherd opened his com, to warn Vasir of possible more bombs her way. They couldn't be caught in a left over trap.

"Vasir, we found the bomb, military grade, turian design" Shepherd said.

"Military grade? Sloppy work, you use that hardware when you don't have a plan" Vasir said. "They got desperate" The team got up to the second floor, destroyed computers and other office items littered the floor. As went in deeper they from more bodies, some of the barely recognizable from being burned from the explosions. Around the corner they were attacked by more agents, then a blinding light happened.

"Shield your eyes, flash bang!" Shepherd said. The world turned to white as the team got to cover. Shepherd and Garrus tried to fight back, but their shots missed the agents, but the agents had no problems. Tali fired at the canister near the agents, and they went flying, she then summoned her drone to keep them off Garrus and Shepherd while they recovered their sight.

"Wayne, flash bangs are useless against me, I and Chatika will cover you and Garrus" Tali said.

"Do it" Shepherd said.

Chatika turned a corner and flushed the agents out of cover, only for Tali to put them down with her pistol. To engineers came down and summoned their own drone, Chatika met the enemy drones and fired a bolt at it, the other drone went to flank the team. Tali drained the drone, refilling her shields and then sabotage the engineer's guns. By the time Shepherd and Garrus got their sight back, the fight was done.

"Are you two okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, still a bit blurry, we're fine rookie" The team went around the corner and saw that the route upstairs was block by fire. The found the room that had a fire suppression system, but it was damged so Tali had to repair it. Shepherd opened his com to contact Vasir, to check if she was okay. "Vasir, what your status?"

"Working my way down, these bastards are tough" she said. "You?"

"Fire blocking our way, once we're done here we'll be at your location" The sprinkler systems came on and the fire died clearing the path to the upper levels. They made it to the lobby of Baria Frontiers, it was surprisingly intact despite the bomb going off on the same level, however the secretary and the guard weren't so lucky with the holes in their heads, they must have been killed before the bomb was planted. Shepherd made his way to the log-in station and opened his com. "Vasir, Liara just logged on a few minutes ago"

"Huh, after the explosion, understood, I'll keep an eye out" The team made their way up the stairs, fighting more and more of the Shadow Broker's agents, Shepherd used his singularity field, while Garrus threw some proximity mine to lighten the load. Tali sabotaged the vanguard's shotgun, only to wipe her out with her geth shotgun. After the short battle ends, they reach the third floor. Before they opened the door, they heard a gunshot, they rushed in.

"Li!" Garrus said. He rushed in and saw a dead salarian and a dead agent, and Vasir standing over them, he sighed a breath of relief, Liara body wasn't there. Vasir shook her head as she looked at the Salarian.

"Damn, if I'd been a few seconds faster, I could have stopped him" she said.

Shepherd kneeled down to the Salarian and frowned. "There goes our lead, damn it…"

"Did you find your friend? I had no luck on my end"

"No, but we know she's alive, it'll take more than a few mercs to put her down" Garrus said.

"Are you sure? She could be a corpse for all you know" A shot rang out and Vasir brought up her barrier blocking the bullets. Shepherd and team had their weapons on ready for a fight, out of the smoke was Liara and she looked pissed.

"Sorry to disappoint you" she said.

"Li, you're alive!"

"No thanks to her, she tried to kill me!" Liara said aiming her gun at Vasir.

"But she's a spectre, she's been helping us find you" Tali said.

"You mean she was using you, to finish the job" she said. "She's on the Shadow Broker's payroll" They looked at Vasir.

Vasir chuckled lightly. "I know you had a rough day, so I'll let it slide, why don't you put the gun down"

Liara glowed blue. "I saw you, I doubled back after I left, and I watched you break into my apartment"

Shepherd frowned and raised his gun at Vasir. "So you were using us?" Tali and Garrus raised their guns also, however Vasir didn't look worried now that she was found out which meant she could lose the facade. But just in case things went even further south she took a step back towards the window, they may have thought they cornered her, but there was more than one way to use biotics.

"Tch, and here I thought, we were becoming fast friends, disappointing" Vasir said. "It was nothing personal, Shepherd, just needed a little help tracking down Liara"

"Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker's agents. They bombed the building to take me out" Liara said. "You killed Sekat and took his data, which I'm guessing you still have"

"Which means we kill her and take it back" Garrus said. "Perfect, I was looking to put a bullet into the person that did this"

Vasir smirked cruelly. "How cute, the pureblood has a knight, a dead knight" she said. Her hand glowed blue and she broke the glass behind her and launched at the team, Liara creates a wide barrier to protect the team. Vasir jumps out the window using her biotics to slow her fall.

"I got the bitch!" Shepherd said jumping after Vasir. Shepherd lands on her disrupting her concentration and now they were in free fall, as they struggled to get an advantage over the other, the asari glowed the slow their descent. However it was hard to do, while the human was trying to get at the data, Vasir punches him and then used her weight to shift positions. With her on top she could focus on breaking the fall, Vasir glowed blue using her biotics cushion their landing. Once on the floor she got off of the human and ran towards the door. She then called the Shadow Broker agents to cover her escape, she knew they wouldn't survive, but they could at least give a head start.

"Thanks for the dance" Vasir said. She saw Liara leaping out of the office, only using her biotics to slow her descent at the last minute. "Shit…" She turns the corner, but Liara followed closely behind, blowing past two Shadow Broker Agents in the process. The squad rejoins Shepherd in the plaza where more agents emerge from the Eldfell-Ashland Energy office.

"Wayne!"

"Boss!"

"I'm okay, just my pride was wounded" They get to cover, and Shepherd got out his arc projector. "I don't have time for this bullshit!" He fired, wiping out the agents. They followed Liara out of the building; however the agents were not making it easy for them. The last couple of agents tried to block their way and was gunned downed without remorse, when they were finally out, they saw Liara and Vasir engaged in a firefight. Liara used her singularity to get Vasir out of her cover, but the spectre countered with her own biotic field. Shepherd and team shot at her, she growled, things were getting too heated for her taste. Vasir calls her X3M shuttle car which wrapped around and blocked their shots. Before she got in she fired on the fuel compartment of the shuttle cars that Liara was using as cover, Liara saw this coming and ran away as the cars exploded. She jumps into her car and rides off.

"Damn it!" She calls a cab, just as Shepherd and his team caught up with her.

"I'm fine, by the way, thanks for asking" Shepherd said annoyed.

"I knew you would survive, now hurry up" They got in and followed Vasir through the skies, but had to watch out for the traffic, and every other obstacle. Not that Vasir was worried as used them to make their cab crash. Vasir ducked into a construction site, zigzagged around the steel pillars, however she underestimated how reckless of a driver Shepherd is. He turned the car on the side cut through the narrow passages as a shortcut to cut off Vasir. The asari climbed up and out of the construction site and Shepherd followed. However the excitement was bit much for some members of the team, mostly Tali.

"Keelah, this is like the mako all over again" she said close to gagging.

"I didn't know you were car sick" Garrus said.

"Only when Wayne is driving…" Tali said grimly. The car chase continued with Vasir going into the skyway, it was then she decided to punch it. Shepherd also punched it too, but the cab they were in just didn't have the thrust to keep up with her car.

"This would be easier, if I could just shoot her down" Shepherd said "What weapons does this thing have?"

Liara looked at him. " It's a taxi, it has a fare meter"

"Fucking wonderful…" Shepherd muttered. They then saw little grey dots in the sky, Liara eyes widen.

"Proximity charges!" Shepherd swerved barely dodging the mine's explosion. Vasir had dropped a whole load of proxy mines hoping Shepherd would run into one. Shepherd pushed the cab near its limit, hoping he was faster than the mine could explode. The mine field exploded behind them, destroying a good portion of the skyway, making it collapse, Shepherd turned sharply and exited the tunnel and was back on the freeway with Vasir.

Shepherd laughed. "Now she's making this fun!"

"Keelah, you're crazy!" Tali said.

"We've been dating for how long, and you've just now noticed?"

"Bosh'tet…" she muttered. Liara spoke up.

"Reinforcements!" Liara said. She pointed up, and saw several gunships; Shepherd smirked as went into the oncoming traffic, as Vasir's reinforcements try to shoot them down, the cab took a sharp left and one her reinforcements careened into a billboard, exploding into a ball of fire. One down more to go….

"Scratch one!" Garrus said with glee. "Nice one, boss"

"Think we can get the last one?"

"Hell yeah!" Tali and Liara shook their heads at their boyfriend childish banter.

"Men…" was all they could say. Liara's eyes went wide.

"T-truck!"

"What was that, Liara?" Tali turned Shepherd's head and pointed at a huge red tanker like truck coming at them.

"TRUCK!" One of the gunships tried to fire on Shepherd, but instead hit the truck's thruster systems. The driver swerved trying to keep control, but fell on its side mowing down the cars in front and heading towards the team.

"Oh shit!" Shepherd turned a sharp right, barely dodging the avalanche of motor mayhem; however the gunships weren't as lucky as they were swept away by the tidal waves of cars. "Whoo! There we go" Shepherd punched it and headed for Vasir.

Liara paled and slouched in her seat. "I will never take the ground for granted as long as I live" she said grimly.

"You and me, both" Tali said sick.

"Boss, we're next to her" Garrus said.

"Good let's finish this" Both cars were neck and neck dodging the on-coming traffic.

"Goddess, a head on collision at this speed…"

"I know I hear they're bad for your health" Shepherd sarcastically. The two cars were grinding against each other, trying to get the upper hand on each other.

"Truck!"

"Again?!" Both cars take a sharp turn, dodging the mess of a traffic jam. Vasir looked at them, and Shepherd gave a smirk. She then rams Shepherd and team out of the sky and then rammed him again trying to make him crash into the apartment buildings on the side. "No this bitch didn't!" Shepherd rammed her car hard, only for Vasir to collide with another skycar, and crash-land on top of a penthouse. "She's not going anywhere, let's get her" As Shepherd works to land the now roughed up cab, Vasir limps out of the car bleeding from her head and with a few broken ribs. She couldn't afford to fight them in this condition, Vasir opened her com.

"I've crashed on Azure get me some damn backup" she said as she limped away into the hotel. Shepherd's cab landed beside Vasir's. When they got out they saw a trail of purple blood.

"She's got a bad injury, she's not going to make it far" Garrus said. They then heard the sound of multiple cars landing. Out came dozens of Shadow Broker agents.

"Looks like I spoke too soon" The team got to cover.

_**Looks like Shepherd's bad driving isn't restricted to just the Mako…**_

_**Review and Comment….**_


	73. Chapter62:Lair of the Shadow Broker pt3

**Chapter 62: Lair of the Shadow Broker pt.3**

"Watch for the drones!" Garrus and Shepherd overloaded the drones, while Liara lift the Engineers off the ground. One of the heavies locked Garrus and Shepherd down in cover while the agent vanguard went to flank them; Tali summoned her drone to distract the heavy users. Liara froze them in a stasis bubble allowing Shepherd to push them back with a throw field. The last agent fell with a heavy thud, the battle was a bloody mess, but the team was ultimately victorious. The team continued to follow Vasir's blood trail, into the Azure Hotel.

"She lost this much blood and is still able to walk, she's tough that's for sure" Garrus said.

"I'm not surprised, she is a spectre after all, but that won't save her from me" Liara said.

"Keep focused, Li don't let your hatred blind you from what you're trying to do"

"I won't, I promise" She said softly.

Azure was a very strange hotel, on the outside it looked ordinary five-star hotels, until get inside. The penthouse was colorful, full of pulsing music and screens with dancing asari. As they went inside, they saw people on the ground pleading for their lives, a asari in black bra and panties and a fat shirtless human in his underwear.

"Please let me live. Please let me live. I'll do the mantras every week. I'll give to charity" the asari said. "I'll go back to the Citadel and get a good job, I swear." Shepherd came up to the patrons.

"Hey" They looked up and had fear in their eyes.

"Please don't kill me!" she said in fear.

"I'm not here to kill you, have you seen a heavily armored asari through here?" He asked.

"She went outside, to the door on the left" she said pointing to the door. Shepherd nodded.

"Things are going to get ugly pretty soon, stay here and hide, you'll be safe" The asari and her patron nodded. "Let's go" The team nodded and went on their way, all they had to do was follow the destroyed Loki Mechs.

As they after Vasir, Tali spoke up. "Strangest hotel I've ever seen, what kind was it?"

Liara blushed. "Azure, it's a luxury resort with…an exotic edge. Azure is slang for a…part on the asari body in some areas in Illium"

Tali tilted her head. "Where?"

"Mainly the lower reaches, near the bottom."

"I mean where on the asari body?"

"So did I" Tali looked at her and blushed.

"N-never mind, forget I asked" she said flustered. The team made it outside of the penthouse; the people there were in nice suits and dresses, it seems they landed in the middle of a business party. The partygoers were laughing and dancing in a carefree matter, in the back of the partygoers they then saw Vasir limping away.

"End of the line, Vasir" Shepherd said with his gun aimed at her. The music, the laughing, and the dancing soon stopped and were replaced with a nervous silence. A firefight would be a bad idea here; too many innocents could be caught in the crossfire. However Vasir didn't have a problem with innocent people being there, in fact it was just the opposite, they were going to be her trump card out of here.

"I think not" she said. Vasir immediately grabs a young woman with short red hair and an all purple dress, and then she puts her gun to her hostage's head. Seeing this, the other partygoers leave, leaving the team, Vasir, and her hostage. She whispers into the woman's ear. "Tell me what's your name, girl?"

"M-Mariana" the woman said in fear.

Vasir gave a cruel smirk. "Mariana, such a nice name, I always liked human names, they just roll off the tongue, don't they Wayne?" Shepherd glared at her. "You want live don't you, Mariana?"

"Y-yes"

"Well then tell them that"

"You bitch!" Shepherd growled. Vasir applied pressure to the woman's forehead.

"Uh-uh, I know it's hard for you, but do try to resist the urge to do something stupid, otherwise…"

"Wayne, we got to be careful" Tali said.

"I know…" he said. "We'll get you out of there, Mariana"

"Well, that's good to hear, but I'm holding the cards" Vasir said " I wouldn't have do this if you had just walked away, I do find this distasteful but now you forced my hand, if she dies, it will be on your heads"

Tears stream from Mariana's eyes. "Please…please, I have a son"

"Aw, you heard that, Shepherd? She has a son, tell us Mariana, how old?"

"F-five, please…" She sobbed.

"Five years old, I hear losing a parent is horrific for children, scars them for life" she said with cruel smirk. "Isn't that right, Dr. T'Soni?"

Liara glowed blue. "I'm going to end you, Vasir!" Garrus grabbed her arm, and shook his head.

"Chill Liara, we'll do this, the usual way" Shepherd said.

"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up an orphan, do you Shepherd?" she asked. "No? Then thermal clips, and power cells on the ground, now"

Shepherd scoffed. "Is that it?"

Vasir frowned. "What?"

"I killed 300 batarians at the cost of twenty of my men; I sacrificed a friend and human lives to stop Saren" he said. "I even unleashed rachi on the galaxy, so for your sake I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a fucking hostage"

She glared at them. "You're bluffing" As they talked, Vasir didn't notice Liara biotically lift a table behind her and positioned just at the right spot. "I've read your psych profile, you don't have the guts"

Shepherd smirked. Now Liara!" Liara throws the table at Vasir, making her let go of her hostage and throwing the asari into to the fountain. Shepherd and team went in front of Mariana, covering the civilians escape. The water in the pool rippled violently and Vasir shot out of the fountain like a bat out of hell, the look on her face 100% pure rage.

"I'LL KILL YOU, SHEPHERD!" The asari spectre glowed blue and charged at the team. The team scattered out the way, as she collided with a wall turning it into rubble. The team went to cover and fired at her, but Vasir was warping around like a mad woman trying to get a Shepherd. Tali summon Chatika to distract her, but she blew it away effortlessly with a shockwave and knocked the quarians out of cover. Garrus took his shot with his assault rifle, but zigzagged across the roof firing her Vindicator, draining his shields. Liara was next as she lobbed warp fields to slow her down, she just mowed through the field and smashed her against the wall. Shepherd and Tali fired at the spectre but she dashed away and reappeared behind them to blast them with shockwave into the tables. Vasir scoffed. "I'm disappointed that this is all you got"

Vasir charged her biotic, ready to charge at Shepherd and Tali when Garrus and Liara attacked her with concussive shot and warp fields. Vasir used her shockwave; bur Shepherd and Tali attack got up and attacked the asari stopping her attack. The attack was too much for her, and Vasir charged upwards to escape. "No you don't!" Garrus used her concussive shot to knock her out the air, she fell on to the ground hard while the rest of the team continued their attack. Vasir rolled into cover, using her biotics to their full potential was tiring her out. She needed to get some distance to recover, she opened her com.

"I need back up, ASAP"

"On route" Shepherd and team flanked Vasir, the asari spectre dash out of cover using hit and run tactics until her reinforcements arrived.

"Don't let her escape!" Liara threw some table at her to slow her down, while Garrus and Tali fired their guns. They seemed to have the upper hand, until some rockets impacted their location.

Vasir scoffed. "About time" Vasir dashed away, while the engineers got off the shuttle and fired on the team. Tali hacked the rocket drones, turning them against the engineers; the engineers summoned their drones to flank Liara and Garrus. Shepherd froze the engineers with his cryo blast, while the asari and tuarian to care of their drones. After taking care of the engineers and drones, Vasir knocked them off their feet with shockwaves. She charged at the team, Garrus stunned her with concussive shots while Tali and Liara took aim with their guns. While she was trying guard against their fire, Shepherd slipped away and tackled her to ground, the struggle lasted several minutes, Vasir kicked Shepherd off and went for rifle, and he shot her several times in the back with her pistol. "Damn it…" Vasir mustered up some energy to dash away, but Garrus beat her to the punch and gunned her down with his rifle. She fell with a thud in a pool of her blood.

The exhausted Shepherd got up and walked to the dying Vasir. "Game over…"

Vasir coughed up her blood. "You're dead, the Shadow Broker has been in power for decades, and he's stronger than anyone you've ever faced…"

"That why you sold out the Council and your oath to protect the innocent?" Shepherd asked. Vasir glared at him.

"Fuck…you! You don't get to judge, not after working with terrorists like Cerberus" Shepherd frowned and Vasir gave weak smirk. "Struck a nerve, have I? How many people have Cerberus killed for their goal human superiority? At the end of the day, you're just like me…"

"I'm nothing like you! You crossed a line, I didn't!" Shepherd growled.

Vasir chuckled and then coughed up more blood. She wouldn't have long… "Heh, I wonder how many times you've looked into the mirror and told yourself that convenient lie…" Her breathing stopped and she went limp on the ground. Liara came up and took the data of Vasir's corpse.

"With this we can find him, it's almost over…" She said. The team went back to the Normandy.

_Hagalaz is a second-tier garden world that receives little attention from the galactic community. A salarian mining expedition initially discovered the planet, which was promptly strong-armed away from them by organized crime figures. Hagalaz's exploration rights were then sold to the highest bidder, which led to a brief burst of mining colonies in the 2000s, but most of those were abandoned when other planets were found with more accessible resources._

_Though Hagalaz has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere capable of supporting life, its rotational period is slower than Earth's, making its day and night 98 Earth hours long. The intense heat on one side of the planet and the extreme cold on the other make for violent storm cells wherever the sun is rising or setting. As a result, the flora and fauna of Hagalaz have developed the capability to live in cycles of ice, flooding, baking heat, and dramatic air pressure changes. The biota of the planet has been largely unexploited by the exotic pet and gardening trades, since simulating their natural conditions is problematic for the average consumer.-Codex_

"Garrus! Sniper cover!" Shepherd said. The turian planted two bullets in the skull of the agent. Tali shot the compositors, letting loose lightning taking the agent and his allies. The team landed on Hagalaz to an unpleasant surprise, the planet was a big super cell and the ship a giant lightning rod. Not only did they have to dodge lightning, but they also had to worry about the Shadow Broker's agents. They made it to entrance to ship, and Liara used a device that could open any door courtesy of the black market, unfortunately it has never been tested so they had to wait so see if it would even work. Of course this gave time for the Shadow Broker's thugs to come in and surround them. Tali blasted another Vanguard trying to get close, while Shepherd and Garrus overloaded two more rocket drones each. More reinforcements came in.

"Wayne, they just keep coming, how long until the damn door is opened?" Tali asked.

"Liara?"

"Hard to tell, but I'm sure it won't be much longer?"

"I miss the old days of just slapping omni-gel on everything" Garrus said. "It was quicker"

"I know that security upgrade made a lot of people unhappy" Liara said. After fighting some more waves, Liara's device opened the door.

"Go! Go!" Shepherd said. The ship had some interesting architecture; Shepherd had never seen anything like the ship. Just about everything on the ship was used to harness the lightning from Hagalaz, of course that meant the ship couldn't fly except inside the planet. The team went inside fighting more agents, due to the closed corridors, it made it hard to fight, however the agents didn't have a problem due to being used to working on the ship. When the last agent fell, they entered the room.

"What is this place?" Tali asked.

"Looks like the detention centers from C-sec, except more depressing" Garrus said. He took a look around, and saw a drell in a metal chair. "Li, look!"

Liara came to Garrus' position, her eyes went wide. "F-Feron!"

Feron looked at the team; he was full of bruises and cuts, he was also skinny from the lack of food he's been getting."Liara?" he asked weakly. Liara ran to the controls.

"Hang on, we're getting you out"

"No wait" Liara touched the terminal, and Feron screamed as the device to his right lit up and he was shocked.

"Feron!"

Shepherd frowned. "What the hell did they do to you?"

Feron coughed. "Things no sentient being should do to another" he said. "The equipment is sensitive to tampering, pull me out now and I cook"

"How do we get you out?" Tali asked.

"Almost everything here is tied to his information network, shut off the power and I'm free" Feron said. "Just be careful, the Broker is more dangerous than you know"

Shepherd nodded. "Alright, move out" The team left, leaving only Garrus and Ferron. As the turian was about to follow them, Ferron spoke up.

"Tell me, are you Valkarian?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Feron chuckled lightly. "Liara talks a lot about you, when we were getting you commander's body back, it was all she could talk about" He then grew serious. "Take care of her, she been through a lot"

Garrus looked at him. "Feron, were you…?"

"Yeah, I was, but she made it clear that she only had eyes for you" he said. "She's a good woman, you're lucky to have her"

"I know" he said catching up with the team. The way to the Shadow Broker's office was not as hard as getting in his ship; there was little opposition, which made the team cautious. They made it the Broker's office; the team stared down figure in black. They could make out his feature, but it was clear he was an alien, what race they didn't know. Around the room there was no guards just him and his network which was strange as this network is supposed to be the most important in the universe. He just sat at his desk, not even worried that four heavily armed people was now pointing weapons at him, was it a trap or was Ferron right, that he was more dangerous than they knew. The Broker spoke up.

"Here for the drell?"He asked in a deep voice. He chuckled which sent chills down the team's spine. "Reckless, but that's to be expected of the Butcher of Torfan"

Shepherd frowned. "That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle"

"Extreme but necessary"

"No it wasn't! Neither was caging Feron for two years like an animal!" Liara growled.

"Your interference caused all of this, because he fell in love you" The Broker sneered. "He betrayed me, all for a woman who only had eyes for a broken C-sec officer, he's simply paying the price" Garrus flinched.

"Don't look so surprised, Archangel, I know all about your time on Omega, about your fallen men" he said. "Of course making such a sniveling coward your right-hand man, this was bound to happen."

"Bosh'tet! You're a monster!" Tali growled. The Broker looked at her and laughed.

"Amusing considering you are the daughter of one" Tali flinched. "A fallen admiral that endangered a dying people, all because of an empty promise for a lost homeworld, a pathetic fantasy, you and your people share"

"You've done well to make it this far, however enough talk, my operations are too crucial to be compromised by the likes of you"

"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide." Liara said.

"It is pointless to challenge me, asari, and I know your every secret" he said. "And it will continue after you're dead"

"Is that so? You're a yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the council's first contact teams." She said. "This base is older than your planet's discovery, with means you killed the original broker, sixty years ago, and then took over" The Broker gave a low growl, the team looked at her, none of them have ever heard of that species but it would make sense why they couldn't recognize any of the features that the Broker had.

"I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave…" she then gave a cruel smirk. "…or a pet. How am I doing?" The Broker stood up, revealing a red and white face with two horns and eight eyes. He was big, bigger than fiercest krogan, his eight eyes narrowed at Liara with a murderous gaze. Enraged at this reminder of his pathetic origins and Liara's defiance, the Broker smashes his desk and throws it at Liara.

_**I apologize at being late with the chapter, school started for me and my professors are going to be shelling out project like no tomorrow. But I ensure you I will try to get them out the best I can.**_

_**Also, I'll be taking Commissions for the rewrite of my mini-fanfic 'Before the Storm' so if you have any request on what kind of chapter it should be then PM me.**_

_**And as always, Review and Comment…**_


	74. Chapter 63: The New Shadow Broker

**Chapter 63: The New Shadow Broker**

"Li!" Garrus pushed Liara out-of-the-way only to be hit with the desk, joining him was Tali. They hit the wall and then the floor.

"Garrus!"

"Tali!"

Shepherd and Liara ran towards them to check on them, they were knocked out cold from the impact, but at least they were still breathing. Shepherd and Liara gave the Shadow Broker a murderous gaze of their own. The yahg took out his weapon, the enormous Revenant and fired at the team, Shepherd and Liara brought up their barriers to protect the unconscious turian and quarian. The Broker walked forward as he kept firing, weakening their barrier with each shot, he wanted them dead no matter the method. "Liara, can the hold the barrier?"

"Yes...but what are you planning?"

"The usual, something stupid…." While Liara held the barrier, Shepherd activated his tech armor and charges the yahg. He ran headlong in to the gunfire, using his tech armor to absorb the shots, he was thankful that Tali upgraded his old tech abilities while giving him new ones, especially his tech armor otherwise he would have been Swiss cheese. Shepherd's tech armor was at its limit when he got close to the Broker; the tech armor detonated and pushed him back. The yahg growled and charged at Shepherd tossing to the wall, the spectre hit the wall hard. He shook his head. "Gonna feel that in the morning…" He then heard the click of the Revenant pointed him. "Uh-oh…" Before he could fire, Liara fired off a warp fields getting his attention and giving time Shepherd to recover. The Broker fired at the asari, Liara got into cover behind the pylons while firing her pistol; however he just changed tactics and charged the cover she was in easily destroying the cover. Shepherd blasted him with his incineration; he then fired his Locust when he got the yahg's attention although it had the unfortunate effect of bouncing off him. Not only was he bigger than a krogan, he was also tougher.

"This isn't working!" Liara said.

"Then we do this the hard way" Shepherd said. He pressed a button on his omni-tool on his mechanical arm and out came the omni-blade. It would have been more effective to use his other omni-blade, but the second one could only be used while Shepherd was using his tech armor, unfortunately it was still recharging from that little stunt from earlier. "I'll keep him still; you belt him with warp fields"

"Got it" Shepherd rushed the Broker, using the searing hot blade to cut into his armor, although it seemed to make the yahg more pissed than he already were…He swiped at him, and the spectre dodged, but it left a claw mark on his armor. Shepherd was lucky he was faster than his opponent as taking the full brunt of his attack could have taken his head off. Liara ran blasting the broker from behind with warp fields, to disorient him, leaving him open to another cut from his omni-blade. However, the yahg had other plans, because as soon as Shepherd left the air he was bashed as hard and suddenly.

Shepherd vision was blurry from the blow, and he shook his head to clear his head. As his vison became clear, he saw his hand enveloped in a large orange energy shield. "That's going to be a problem" Shepherd said. Liara came to his side and helped him up.

"No that's perfect, his shield is strong, but I doubt it's maneuverable, just rush him, I need to prepare" Shepherd looked at her, wondering what idea she had in her head, but he ultimately decided to her. Shepherd activated his flame fist function and charged, and dodged and made clear contact to the face, burning his eyes. The Broker gives a deep growl and swipes on to miss, Shepherd climbed on him and kept punching him, burning him each time. It was a struggle keeping his grip, as the yahg kept trying to shake him off like bucking bronco charging into the walls and pylons.

"Anytime you're ready, Liara, he's getting sick of my company…"

"Just a little while longer, Shepherd…" Liara said keeping focus.

"Easy for you to saaaa…." Shepherd thrown to the floor, he heard the large footsteps of a very pissed off yahg. The broker was above him about to smash him into the ground, a blow like that was liable to kill a man, cybernetic upgrades or no, but then the spectre realized that he was also open. It was a risk, but Shepherd activated his tech armor and then his omni-blades and went for broke, and aimed for his eyes taking advantage of his superior speed. The yahg roared holding his eyes as yellow blood flood down his arm, he moved backward to the center of the room.

"Shepherd, move!" Liara glowed with biotic power. Shepherd rolled away, and Liara threw a brilliant blue warp field up to the tank above and brings down the liquid inside down on the Broker. The liquid causes the Broker's barrier to malfunction and explode from an extreme overload, destroying the Shadow Broker for good. Liara sighed. "It's over, after two long years, it's finally over…" she said softly.

Shepherd went to wake up Tali and Garrus. Liara just stood there, unmoving, she finally had everything, her family was back, the man she loved was back, her friend was alive, and she finally had her revenge. As she thought about the future going forward, her thoughts were interrupted by com chatter. She looked around the Broker's office and all the various Broker agents begin asking for updates at the same time. She approached the terminal, it was almost it possessed her, everything was overwhelming. How did the Shadow Broker do this without losing his sanity? It would be so easy to just destroy the network, the final insult for the creature that made her life a living hell, but then what would happen after that….the reapers were still coming and this could turn the tide but she hated this system with a passion. She put her head down, what it did to Feron, Shepherd, her, it was an easy choice to destroy it. She sighed and then walked forward; she then pressed a single button…

"This is the Shadow Broker, the situation is under control" she said. "We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware" Shepherd and team looked at her with wide eyes, Liara continued, trying to keep the thought of her hypocrisy out of her mind. "It disrupted communications momentarily" Liara said. "However we are back online, resume standard procedures, I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day"

"Shadow Broker out" Liara ended the broadcast, not moving with her head. A voice spoke up.

"Goddess of oceans…it's. You…how?" Feron asked in disbelief.

"Someone had to do it…"

"Do you know what this means? You are the new Shadow Broker" he said.

Garrus walked up to her. "Li, are you sure about this?"

The asari shook her head. "I…I'm not sure, but I had to do this…I had to…" Liara said weakly.

"I'll...Uh, check the power systems" Feron said walking away.

"We'll join you, come on rookie" Shepherd said. Tali nodded.

"She needs you, Garrus" Tali said as she walked away. Garrus approached Liara, tears flowed from her eyes and dripped on the terminal. She embraced Garrus while she sobbed desperately.

"Are you alright?"

"I spent two years in hell, and now it's over, I can hardly believe it…" she said.

"So, what now?" he said.

"I…stay here and manage the data"

"So it's goodbye…" Garrus said sadly.

Liara came up and kissed him. "No, not goodbye, in fact I wanted to talk, about us" she said. She sighed. "I'm so sorry, for everything, I had…"

Garrus puts up his hand. "Don't, you did the right thing, because of you we still have a chance against the reapers, and besides in your place, I would have done the same thing."

Liara blushed and grabbed his hands. "I may be busy setting up the systems, but I promise to keep in touch, I mean…if you don't mind"

"Of course, if you don't mind me being busy, keeping boss alive" he joked. Liara giggled. Garrus looked at the terminal, although he didn't agree with his girlfriend being the Shadow Broker, he respected her choice. "So what do we have?"

"Call Shepherd and I'll explain" Moments later, Shepherd and Tali came back to see Liara, the power outage had forced a sudden shut down of all system, but luckily the many backups was able to salvage some of the data. The fact they saw Liara working on the data meant that she was staying on as the new boss, which dissipated them a little, but at least now her friend was free from the old Shadow Broker, both figuratively and literally.

"So I'm guessing you decided to stay" Shepherd said. "I was hoping you come with us"

"Me too, it would be like the old days" Tali said.

Liara smiled. "As much as I would like that, I'm needed here; with the reapers coming you'll need all the help that can get"

"So what kind info are we talking about?"

Liara looked at the terminal and frowned. "Dark secrets, so dark in fact that it could start war in just a few minutes" The team looked at each other worried.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Tali asked concerned.

"It was when it was in the yahg's hands, but the network is under new management" she said. "Besides, with Shepherd's mission keeping me occupied, it will keep me from heading down the wrong path, this power can be corrupting"

"So anything you want to know?"

"Yeah, about my body, why did the old Broker want to sell my body to the Collectors in the first place?"

"He was going to use your body as a bargaining chip"

Tali frowned. "Why?"

"My guess: He knew about the reapers, what they did and what they're going to do our galaxy" She said. "He was finding a way to save himself from the same fate, and since the reapers wanted your body, it seem like the perfect plan"

"Until I betrayed him" Feron said coming into the room.

"Feron, you shut be resting" Liara said concerned.

He chuckled a little and sat in a chair. "I'll be fine, besides working on setting up the network keeps my mind off of what happened"

Liara lowered her head. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be…it was my choice, and I don't regret it"

"So what's next for you?"

"I help Liara as her assistant, I know the systems pretty well, so I can get her started" Feron said. Garrus put his hand on his shoulder.

"Keep her safe, she might not look it, but she not as tough as she seems"

"Got it, by the way Shepherd, while I was rebooting the systems I came across something about Cerberus" He got out a datapad and gave it to Shepherd.

"What about?" he asked.

"Something called Project Overlord"

"Can you tell us what it is?" Tali asked.

"Sorry, but that forced shutdown erased some of the data, but it had something to do with AI's" he said.

Tali looked at Shepherd. "Could they be building an AI?"

"They built EDI, so it could be possible, although with a name like Project Overlord, it can't be good" he said. "I think we'll look into this"

"The coordinates will be on your ship, when you get back"

"Thanks Feron"

Garrus looked at Liara. "I guess this is goodbye, for now…"

Liara came up to him and kissed him. "For now…" she said with a smile. The team went back to the Normandy, leaving an old friend.


	75. Chapter 64: Overlord pt 1

**Chapter 64: Overlord pt.1**

_Aite is an Earth-like world with a variety of habitable land ranging from deserts to jungles to tundra. It also possesses faint rings, an unusual feature for a non-giant planet. The rings contain rocks up to a meter in length and a wide dust cloud that stretches nearly 23,000 km from the center of the planet._

_This impressive celestial phenomenon, however, is dwarfed by the fact that Aite's largest moon, Litae, is in an unstable orbit and is predicted to impact the planet within the next two centuries. Knowing that any Aitian venture is living on borrowed time, colonial population and investment has been orders of magnitude less than other garden worlds.-Codex_

The Normandy flies over the planet and drops the M-44 Hammerhead, a little gift from the Illusive man to appease Shepherd after the incident on the Collector ship. It was lighter than the mako and only had one cannon as its only weapon, but it was fast and had better handling than the old tank. Or at least that's what the Illusive man had said, because the Normandy team never used it before now due to not knowing what to do with it. The Hammerhead came in fast, until Shepherd activated their thrusters and it lands on a pad near the facility. They got out of the vehicle, Aite was a beautiful planet, a literal paradise like Virmire that had a potential to be something better, however like Virmire there was a catch. Tali sighed. "Such a shame…"

Shepherd looked back at her. "What is?"

"This planet could be perfect for my people to colonize…" She said sadly.

"That would be unlikely Creator-Zorah, the planet is a levo composition planet" Legion said. "Consumption would likely result in a fatal allergy attack…" Tali lowered her head, Shepherd palmed his face, a super-efficient logic killing machine Legion was, but it wasn't exactly known for tact.

"Quite the charmer with the ladies I see, Legion…" Shepherd said dryly. He came close to Tali and gripped her hand. "Don't worry you'll find that perfect planet, I know it"

Tali smiled. "I know too" Legion spoke up.

"Shepherd-Commander, there is a transmission coming through" it said.

"Play it" A man's voice spoke up. He introduced himself as Dr. Archer, the lead scientist of the facility; he explained a possible virtual intelligence breakout which he reluctantly admitted he and his team caused. He didn't give much detail only that they needed to hurry and stop it before it could upload itself off the planet. Shepherd sighed; once again he was going to have to save Cerberus from themselves. "A shit sandwich of their own making…Cerberus loves to shoot themselves in the foot"

The team walked in the base, and was met with a grisly sight. Windows and equipment were broken, walls were burned and/or smeared with blood, and they were at least dozens of bodies littered on the floor and this was only the first room. Shepherd frowned, a shit sandwich was an understatement, it was fucked up beyond reasoning.

"Keelah…" Tali gasped.

"Over here!" called an unknown voice. They looked over to the monitor and Archer appeared. Archer didn't really look all that special; he looked to be in his mid-thirties in a white and red lab suit. "I've locked myself in a computer room on the other side of the building. There are geth all over the area"

"Geth?!" Tali asked. "What are geth doing here?"

"A rogue VI has taken control of the facility's systems, and I've lost a lot of friends and I'd hate to see you join them"

"Don't worry about it, I've killed plenty before what's a few more?"

"These geth are unpredictable, you may have trouble, just please be careful" the monitor shut off. The team went straight ahead, and went into the satellite room. As instructed by Archer, Shepherd moved to sync his omni-tool with the controls to retract the dish. The massive instrument began to lower itself.

"System error" the PA said.

"Shit! Going to have to find another was way" A horrific screeching noise suddenly erupted out of every speaker in the PA system making Shepherd and Tali jump, from the monitor green electronic eyes started at him. The way it looked at them was angry, and it made a sound like it was it was screaming at them. Then as soon as it appeared, it disappeared leaving the monitor blank.

"What hell is that?!" Shepherd asked.

"The VI, though we don't recognize this program, something…is different about this VI" Legion said.

"Like?" Tali asked.

"It is hard to describe" it said. "Alert: transmission incoming"

"Damn it. The VI has interrupted the shutdown of the dish. We have to stop him from uploading himself off-planet, hurry" he said. "Destroy the antennae in the dish" his image faded.

"I knew this wasn't going to be easy…"

Tali frowned. "Archer called the VI 'him', since when is a VI a he?"

"We call EDI a she"

"EDI is a fully realized AI, she's practically a person already, but a VI is just that, a VI, and what we saw was no VI"

"We concur with Creator-Zorah's assessment. Though additional data will be required to derive new conclusions." They moved on to the next room, which was clearly a dining area for the staff of the facility. Unlike before, the place was clean, with no dead bodies or signs of carnage.

"No dead bodies for once…that's good" Tali said. A shot then rang out, causing the team to get to cover. They saw geth coming out rooms; their eyes were glowing green from the rogue VIs possession. They acted strange too, one minute they are attacking them and next they were attacking each other which made things easier for them. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift the geth troopers and then pushed them back with a throw field sending them colliding into other troopers.

Tali's drone flushed the possessed the geth out of cover, allowing Shepherd to freeze the geth, he then burn it causing it to shatter and freeze the other geth. Legion hacked the geth, and turning the geth against one another. Shepherd took out the Blackstorm Projector and sucked in the remaining geth, causing an explosion. Once it was all over, they went on their way.

"Wayne, another transmission from Dr. Archer"

"You must hurry, he is aligning the dish to our satellite, and he's got a clear sight" he said.

"Can't you do something to him down?" Shepherd asked.

The com was silent for a while. "If I can introduce junk data, into the VI, it should slow him down considerably"

"Do it, we're close to the top"

"Understood, to take down the dish, destroy the compactors, that should isolate him to this world" the com closed. The dish was far away, but luckily the tram was working since Archer put it in manual mode so the VI couldn't take control of it. The team made it on to the base of the dish, only to be met with several geth primes. Tali and Legion sent out their respective drones, to distract them.

"Wayne go! We'll handle them!" Tali said.

Shepherd nodded. He immediately broke into a sprint while taking a few potshots at the enemy geth as Legion's Widow fired. As Shepherd destroyed the dish's compactors, the fighting got more intense, as a geth destroyer entered the fray. Shepherd dodged the geth's flamethrower, and got behind it and pierced the geth's tank with his omni-blade; he was knocked back when it exploded.

"Wayne!"

"I'm alright, just keep these guys off me!" Tali nodded and hacked the geth, so did Legion to give cover to Shepherd. As Shepherd destroyed the compactors, the VI gave a growl.

"Pissing you off am I? Well too bad" Shepherd said taking a shot at the last compactor. The com broke through.

"You've done it! You've severed the link to the satellite!"

"Was there any doubt?" A piece of the satellite fell behind him, and Shepherd looked up and saw the whole dish was coming a part. "Oh fuck….Everyone off the dish, now!"

The three of them ran and leapt off the platform just as the main body of the dish collapsed and turned most of the structure into junk plummeting into the chasm below. Legion was the first to hit the landing, stumbling awkwardly before it corrected its stance and straightened up. Shepherd was the next to jump, he landed hard on the catwalk as his knees buckled and rolled. An instant later, Tali crashed onto his chest and he let out a breath of air. That was probably going to leave a bruise.

"Sorry, Wayne" she said getting off of him. Shepherd just gave a lewd grin.

"Don't be, it was pleasure saving an ass like that" He joked.

Tali blushed. "You bosh'tet pervert…" she muttered trying her best not to smile.

"You know you like it" he said with grin. A voice spoke up.

"Good job, you have no idea how close we were to Armageddon"

Shepherd frowned. "No shit, what hell's going on here?"

Archer hesitated. "Man's exceeding his grasp" After the team helped with dead bodies in the facility, they went back to Archer, and so he can explain what happened. It turned out much worse than they thought, Project Overlord was trying to gain influence over the geth by interfacing a human mind with a VI, but something went wrong and the geth went on a killing spree.

"Of all the reckless…" Tali said crossing her arms.

"Your attempt to control geth is ultimately futile, organic and synthetic software is incompatible" Legion said.

Archer looked at Shepherd. "Is your friend going to be a problem?"

"You should worry less about my friends, and more about how we are going to clean up your shit" Shepherd said.

"Right, first about the VI, his name is or was David, he was my brother, and he…volunteered to do the project."

Shepherd glared at him. "And you let him?!" he asked outraged.

"We ran dozens of simulations, we thought we could prepare of any setback, but you can't predict what an VI will do, we found out the hard way" he said. "The second thing is, the only to shut down the program is to do a manual shutdown, in the Prometheus station to the north, the Vulcan station to the west, and the Atlas station to the south"

"I take it is not as easy as it sounds" Tali said.

"You're right, usually all three leads have agree to do the shutdown, however since I'm the only lead left, the rest you'll have to do" Archer said. "Second, David has taken control of all three stations, so expect heavy resistance"

"All right, let's go" Shepherd said.

"Wait! Before you go, here is a radio to keep in contact" The team made it the hammerhead, to shut down the VI.

"Wayne, I don't trust him, there's more to this" Tali said. "No one would voluntarily interface with VI to become that thing"

"I know, but for now play along, until we can stop this" The Hammerhead flew to the stations. First up was Vulcan station since it was closest one them, the way to the station was one big obstacle of trying to avoid the lava and the automated defenses that David activated to slow the team down. Once they made it to the station, the problems kept on piling up as they had deal with the left over YMIR, LOKI, and rocket drones. In the end they made it to the control room where they found a possessed LOKI mech trying to destroy the override and the Shepherd wiped it out. He activated the override and they left for the next station.


	76. Chapter 65: Overlord pt2

**Chapter 65: Overlord pt.2**

After taking care of Vulcan station, the team made it to the Prometheus station to take care of the last shut down. When they got there, they were surprised to learn that it wasn't a station, but a crashed geth ship. As they approached the ship its defense systems went online, the ship was surrounded by a blue beehive-like barrier; David had taken control of the ship.

"Shit! Now how are we going to get in?" Shepherd asked.

The com opened. "Shepherd, there are four shield generators near the ship" Archer said. "The barriers around the generators are weak enough for you vehicle's weapon to get through"

"Sounds like a plan"

"But be careful Shepherd, if David has control of the ship's barrier then he must have…" Suddenly the Hammerhead shook hard and was launched into the air; the vehicle was about crash into the canyon before Shepherd was able to regain control of the Hammerhead. Shepherd and Tali shook their head to stop the world from spinning, as they went back to their senses the alarms were blaring, that blow drained the light craft's barriers and then some as the ship was at critical. Light and maneuverable the Hammerhead was, but it was no Mako, it just couldn't heavy hits like his beloved tank; one more hit and they were dead.

"Everyone okay?" Shepherd asked.

"Yeah, as soon as my ears stop ringing…" Tali said in a daze.

"Alert: Geth ship mass effect cannon charging…." Legion said. "Recommend evasive maneuvers" A red circle surrounded the area the Hammerhead was in, David was targeting them. Shepherd activated the thrusts and they escape the target as the ship fired. The team narrowly dodged the blast, now they had two problems, they had to destroy the shield generators and not get blasted into vaporware by the VI possessed cannon. David took aim again and fired, this time the team was near the first generator; the blast impacted the area and not only destroyed barrier, but also the generator. David was just fired wildly trying to hit the team, but this reckless tactic worked to their advantage as they were able use the fire to destroy the last three generators. Once the generators were destroyed, the geth ship stopped firing allowing them to enter the ship. Once on the ship, they found it was full of geth in stasis, which made Shepherd and Tali nervous.

"You okay Rookie?" Shepherd asked looking back.

"Sorry just nervous…"

"Keep your head straight, we're almost done" Shepherd said. Though Tali was right to be nervous, they expected a firefight and nothing…David had them surrounded on all sides, with not much cover to rely on, he could easily activate the geth and overwhelm them. Which begged the question, what was he waiting for? The team went around the corner and saw the ship was flooded with water from the crash. "Watch your step, everyone…"

"Wayne…I've noticed something…"

"What?" Shepherd asked.

"I've noticed there are no bodies here, what did David do with them?" Tali asked.

"I doubt we want to know…" Shepherd said grimly. The next room was a very large command center of the station, of all the damaged areas on the ship this was the worst, the water wasn't that deep, but with all the electrical wiring swimming across was a no-go. They went to a terminal to the left and built a bridge using panels used for cutting off areas that were on fire from the rest of the ship. After the bridge finished forming to the other side, they made it to the other side. Shepherd then went to the manual shut down.

"Override of Atlas Station lock-down complete" The monitor then went down, and was replaced with a digital image of David.

"Alert: Geth in this station are reactivating" They looked behind them and a Geth got up, eye green from David possessing it.

Tali looked at Shepherd. "What was that about, being almost done?"

Shepherd sighed. "Great..." He muttered. The three shot the geth and ran across the bridge. In the first room out, they were ambushed by rocket troopers and a hunter. Shepherd took out his Blackstorm and fired, sucking in the troopers on the second floor while Tali destroyed the hunter. They ran through and entered a hall with a destroyer, two hunters and rocket trooper in the back, the narrowness of the room made it difficult to fight. The hunter and destroyer cornered Shepherd with shotgun blasts and flamethrowers, destroying his tech armor and blowing them back. However he was left open against the second hunter and the rocket trooper, Tali drained the hunter of its energy allowing Shepherd to take it down with his raider shotgun. Legion fired his widow and took off the rocket trooper's head. They fought more of the geth until; they came back to the entrance of the geth ship.

"Geth Prime, ahead" Legion said.

"You mean Geth Prime dead" Shepherd said firing his projector. Tali and Legion hack the troopers to give the team time to escape, Legion stopped. "What the hell, Legion?"

"Activating Self-destruct mechanism would be unwise to leave ship standing" it said.

"Fine, just hurry!" Tali said.

"We have ten minutes before ship's destruction; we recommend evacuation to the Hammerhead"

"Don't have to tell me twice" Shepherd said. The team got on the Hammerhead and left as the Geth ship blew up behind him. The com broke through.

"Commander, what happened? I have no readings from the Prometheus Station"

"That, Archer is the sweet smell of a burning geth ship" Shepherd said.

"I…see, anyway the path to the Atlas station is opened, I believe the VI will make its last stand there"

'Got it" Shepherd said. The Hammerhead made it to the Atlas station, only to be fired upon by the turrets.

"We should take evasive maneuvers" Legion said.

"Ya think?" Shepherd asked annoyed. The Hammerhead dodged the missile fire, while moving Legion activated the weapon system, and fired on the turrets, destroying them.

"No enemies left Wayne" Tali said.

Shepherd sighed. "Let's finish this" The door to the docking bay opened and the team entered the station. Shepherd parked the Hammerhead on the platform, and the team exited the vehicle. They walked access the bridge and entered the lobby, there were more bodies littered on the floor, some had been shot or burned. Shepherd ignored the carnage and opened his com. "Shepherd to Archer, we're in, over"

"Good now maybe we can end this nightmare" he said. "You must go to the server room there you can shut down the VI experiment"

"And if that don't work and I have to kill your brother…"

Archer didn't answer right away. "Let's pray that doesn't have to happen" he said. "Wait Commander we have a new problem"

"What now?" Shepherd asked annoyed.

"The VI is trying to upload its program directly to your location, you must hurry to the…" Archer's voice went off.

"Archer, Archer?" The com came back on with a recording of Archer's voice.

"_Archer log 155.2: For years my brother's condition has been a handicap. That changes today" _

Tali looked at Shepherd. "What condition? Archer never mentioned his brother had a condition."

"_His autistic mind is the breakthrough I've been looking for…he can communicate with the geth!"_

The door opened as soon as the recording stopped and the team went down stairs where they saw broken geth all over the place, unlike the other stations, Atlas seemed to be the only one to have tried to fight back. As the team walked, Shepherd couldn't stop thinking about that log that came through the PA system. Tali was right, there was something Archer was not telling them, and the key to all of it was David, Archer's younger brother. They hoped to find some more information about Overlord.

"Wayne, what did he meant by autistic? What is it?" Tali asked.

"It a sociological disorder found in humans, because of how the brain is wired, humans with this disorder have a hard time being with other people, in worse cases, it can severely limit mental functions" Shepherd explained.

"Must be hard, for them"

"It can be, but with today's technology it's not quite the condition it was a hundred years ago" he said. "What I want to know is what that have to do with the geth" They went into the hallway, looking to cross to the next room, but the door in front suddenly closed. Next the locks flicked rapidly across the room until the lock stopped at the door to their left and the door opened.

"He's toying with us" Tali said.

Shepherd shook his head. "I don't think so…" They went into a lab, and they saw a log; the VI was leading them somewhere. Shepherd pressed the button and Archer's voice was heard.

"_Archer log157.8: Unless we see results, the Illusive Man is shutting us down next week. I have no choice" he said. "I'm going to tap David directly into the geth neural network and see if he can influence them"_

"Keelah…how is David even alive?! Interfacing with the geth consensus would leave most brain-dead"

"Creator Zorah is correct, for an organic to interact with us is unprecedented" Legion states. "This new data is troubling"

"_Danger should be negligible, David might even enjoy it"_

Shepherd frowned. "Asshole" Legion spoke up.

"Alert: Geth incoming"

David gave an angry howl, and geth flooded the room. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift them up, and blasted them with a warp field. Tali and Legion summoned their drones, to distract the geth. Legion shot the geth prime with its Widow shutting it down. Shepherd used his Blackstorm to suck the geth in and it caused an explosion ending the battle. Archer's voice could be heard again. _"Archer log168.4: I'd be lying if I said no harm would come to David"_ Shepherd and team went into the next room, it was full of computers.

"Must be the server room" Tali said.

"Get ready, David may try anything" Tali and Legion nodded. Shepherd pressed the button, and an image of David appeared, the spectre held his head in pain.

"Wayne!" Tali tried to get to Shepherd, but was held back by Legion. "Let go! Wayne, Wayne!"

For the briefest of moments, his eyes met hers. The quarian choked back a gasp as she saw what had happened: the slightest traces of green code were glowing out of his eyes and various other cybernetics in his body. Shepherd walks out of the room in a daze, and then falls to the floor. After getting back up however, the door closes behind Shepherd, trapping Legion and Tali in the room.

"Wayne!" shrieked Tali as she was futilely trying to open the door. "No! No!" she banged on the door. Legion then did something surprising it but its hand on the Quarian's shoulder.

"Creator Zorah, we can save Shepherd-Commander, but we need your help" the geth said.

Tali calmed down. "Okay, but we need to hurry" After a few tinkering with the door, it finally opened. They followed the dazed commander through the facility.

His head was pounding. Every breath was a struggle. At times, it even felt like he had to force his heart to keep beating. The world was green and computer-like as layer of code was overlaid over everything he could see. He stumbled down the hall, trying to keep his balance. When he enters a room, he suddenly got back control of his body. He looked around, and an image appeared in the corner of the lab. A younger man was on the floor, blissfully unaware of his surroundings, he looked no older fifteen wearing a Cerberus uniform that was bit big for him he had short brown hair. In front of him was a geth on the lab table and an older man to his side looking at his data pad. It was David and Archer before Project Overlord started….

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1…square root of 912.04 is 30.2…" David said.

"Time on this project is running out. There are no option's left" Archer said. "How to get the geth's attention?" A buzz came from the geth, and David got up and started to buzz with it. Archer looked at David as he and the geth had what looked like a small conversation, his eyes went wide, he had spent two years since the project started trying to talk to the geth and his kid brother was able to do in three minutes. Archer walked over to David and grabbed his shoulder.

"David?"

David looks at his brother and smiled. "The robot says hello"

"My god, David, you're a miracle worker" Archer said. The image disappeared.

"What was that? Your memories?" Shepherd asked. Another image appeared, this time Archer was on a laptop, archiving his latest test results. With the discovery of his brother's abilities, Project Overlord was back on track and could meet its deadline. Meanwhile David was behind him, chanting the same mantra as before, math was soothing for him, it helped focus his mind. David autism was more severe than most in this day in age, but it did give him something a gifted mind for mathematics.

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1…square root of 912.04 is 30.2…" David said.

Archer looked back. "David can you repeat my notes from Thursday's experiment?"

"Square root of 918.09 is 30.3"

The older man turned around and frowned. "David! Stay focused!" Archer said.

David put his hand on his head. "Loud! Too loud!" he whimpered.

Archer sighed and walked up to Dave, he rubbed his brother's head gently. "I'm sorry I snapped, you didn't deserve that, could you please repeat Thursday's notes?"

David calmed down and smiled a little. "Log137.3: The experiments yielded no results of geth obedience. End diction now, David. Hell the Illusive Man will have my head for this"

"Thank you and how are you feeling?"

"Square root of 924.16 is 30.4…earplugs would be nice" David said. The image faded and another took its place this time with a geth. It was on a device and suspended in the air. Next to David was Archer and another scientist.

"David, order the geth to take a step forward" David started to buzz and the geth's legs moved.

"How does he do it?"

"David is a mathematical genius" Archer said with pride. "His autistic mind can interpret the geth language at its most basic and mimic their phonetics"

"With his photographic, understanding the meaning is a snap, he is literally a human computer"

"And you think he can interface with the neural network?"

"I do"

"Is that even safe, Dr.?" one of them asked.

"I see no harm in finding out" the image disappeared, and Shepherd stood there trying to fight back the tears. David wasn't a danger, but a victim of his brother's cruel ambition, how could anyone do that to another person, especially family. Shepherd wiped his cheeks, it didn't matter, this evil project was going to stop. The door behind him opened, and rushed through fight the virtual geth that David summoned. As Shepherd went through the station, David was screaming in his mind, whatever he was going through was more painful than torture. He couldn't really describe it, when David hacked into Shepherd…they had been linked somehow, a little of what David felt bled through to him.

"…MAKE IT STOP!"

"I will, promise" Shepherd said softly. He went to an elevator; he was in the center of the station. In the middle of the room, was a large green sphere, as Shepherd walked closer another image appeared before him. Archer and another scientist were on terminals about to start the test, David was nowhere to be found, but he could be heard. And he sounded scared…

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1…square root of 912.04 is 30.2" David said franticly.

"We're ready. Open a connection to the network" The system glitches.

"QUIET!" The geth surrounded the two men.

"David no! Tell the geth to stand down!" Archer said in fear.

"OUIET PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" The green world was shattered and Shepherd was returned to the real world. Tali and Legion ran up to them, they had followed the spectre, but because David didn't hack them, they didn't see what Shepherd saw.

"Wayne!" Tali said. Her eyes went wide as the green core started to spin and glow orange. The core then extended green digital tendrils to each of the servers. A blue sphere was formed and it slowly started to move towards the core. "W-what's going on?!"

"Alert: Node acquired: Normandy SR-2 is within range" Legion said.

"Shit, he's planning on piggybacking onto the Normandy!" Shepherd said. "Make sure, those nodes don't get uploaded." Tali and Legion nodded.

The team went into action shooting the nodes; the VI returned the favor by summoning the geth to slow them down. Tali and Legion hacked the geth and then summoned their drones to keep the geth occupied. As the last nodes are destroyed, the team directed their attention at the core in the middle and shot at it. David desperate for self-preservation, summoned more powerful geth, but his mind was unfocused and the geth in returned attacked each other giving the team time to shoot the core. As the last bullet hit the shell, the core glowed green and the virtual face of David formed and then shattered, his tortured screams finally ceased, and the geth fell to the floor deactivated and harmless.

"QUIET! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" Another glow happened, and it condensed into a ball of light and dives to the ground causing a brief blinding flash, revealing David…real David… Shepherd and Tali gasped in horror at what they saw, it was worse than what Shepherd saw.

"Oh my god…"

"Keelah…"

They were treated to a grisly sight of a naked young man suspended upright in midair with nearly a dozen cables tapping into his arms and nervous system. His eyes were kept forced open, fluid on them that was certainly not tears. A pair of feeding tubes extended down his throat, keeping him from dying, forced into this living hell for as long as his captors deemed it necessary. His skin was deathly pale, from being in the darkness for so long, despite being force-fed David was emaciated, with a lot of the system not working from David's rampage the feeding tubes didn't as good as it was supposed to.

"Quiet…please make it stop…." Voice spoke up.

"Wait, Commander!" Archer ran to them, without warning Shepherd punched the scientist with a look of pure hatred on his face. The spectre was beating the life out of Archer, Tali ran to Shepherd trying to stop the spectre from killing him, even though it was what the scientist deserved. Shepherd's breathing was hard, not from exhaustion but from the rage he felt for the man, Tali hadn't seen him this angry since the X-57 incident two years ago. When Shepherd calmed down enough, he spoke with a rough voice.

"You son of a bitch, he begged you, BEGGED YOU!" He growled.

Archer got up, bruised and bloodied from Shepherd's assault from earlier. For his credit, Archer didn't cower in fear, but Tali could tell he was afraid. "I know how this must look, but I never intended any harm to come to him. You must believe me"

"Believe you? You lied to us so you can keep this horror a secret" Tali said angrily. "I should let Wayne kill you for you what you did"

"It's not how I planned this, it was an accident, seeing David communicate with the geth…it all seem harmless" Archer said.

"And before you knew it you were running your own hell" Shepherd said with venom.

"I had no choice! The demands…"

"THERE'S ALWAYS A CHOICE! I had to watch my sister die in my arms, and you…you still had your brother and YOU DO THIS!" Shepherd yelled.

"Any war we fight with the geth will be bloody, I had to find the way to avoid that, I did what I had to do!"

"So you decided to play god with David's life and with the lives of the people here, you disgust me"

"If my research spares millions of mothers the loss of their sons and daughters, then I can rest easy."

"Tell that to your brother and try to justify that to him" Tali hissed. "Thanks to you, he will never be the same"

"The damage may not be permanent, he may recover some semblance of his mind" Archer said.

"Maybe, but not here and not with you" Shepherd said pulling up his com.

"What are you doing?"

"I've seen enough of you cruelty to know he'll never be free, I'm taking him away" Shepherd said.

Archer took out his gun and pointed at him. "No! He's too valuable!" Shepherd bioticlly took the gun away and took out his omni-blade and stopped before his neck.

"I should kill for what you've done here, but…" he looked at David "…David doesn't need this, he needs help" he said. He then grazed Archer's neck with blade, making it draw blood. "If I get the slightest hint that you're going to come after David again, or restart these experiments, I will carve you up like the gutless piece of shit you are, and I will make sure your death is slow and painful as possible"

Shepherd dropped the mortified scientist and released David. The Normandy then flew away from that hell, hoping to forget that nightmare in paradise.


	77. Chapter 66: Remembrance

**Just three chapters left, what do you think of the story so far? Review and Comment…**

**Chapter 66: Rememberance**

All was quiet on the Normandy, it was nighttime and only the skeleton crew was on duty. The quiet was perfect for thinking about that message he got from Hackett. Although it wasn't an order, but a request, meaning he could refuse anytime, Shepherd was hesitant about taking this on.

"Wayne?" His thoughts were interrupted by Tali's voice.

He turned to face her. "Hey" was all he could say. Tali sat next to Shepherd and he kissed her. He sighed.

"What's wrong? It's not like you to be up this late" She said concerned.

"Just thinking about this letter I got from Hackett" Tali tilted her head. "Here just read it…"

_From: Admiral Hackett_

_Commander Shepherd:_

_Our scans in the Amada system have turned up something we thought you should see: the final location of the wreckage of the SSV Normandy._

_We thought this news might be important to you, but we also have an ulterior motive. The Alliance would like to honor the Normandy with a monument, to be built on the site of the ship's final resting place. We'd like to invite you to place the monument and be the first to walk on the site._

_There are still 20 crew members unaccounted for from the attack on the Normandy. If you find any signs of these lost crewmen, we ask that you report to the Alliance so that those heroes' families might find some closure._

_Godspeed to you, Commander._

"He can't be serious…" Tali said with a frown. "Doesn't he the trauma we went through at that area?"

"He knows that's why he came to me, because it was so personal for me, for us" Shepherd said. "Which is why I'm hesitating to ask, can you come with me? I've asked Garrus and Kaiden to come along too"

Tali hesitated at first; to relive what happened to her boyfriend two years ago was painful. To see the ship she considered home ruined, it wasn't easy. She looked at Shepherd, and there was no reaction from him. "Um…"

"I'll understand if you don't want to go, hell I don't, but it feels right to have the original members pay their respects"

She knew he was right, painful as it was; they were going to have to get past this. "Alright, I'll come with you, it's only right"

"Get some rest, rookie, I'll see you in a bit" Shepherd said getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"Setting up the memorial"

_Alchera's crust is composed of carbon and water ice. While low density, its large size allows it to retain a thick atmosphere of methane and ammonia. It is believed that if Alchera had acquired a bit more mass when the Amada star system formed, it would have formed the core of a second outer-system gas giant. Alchera has three moons: Uluru, Wandjina, and Baiame.-Codex_

The Normandy flew into the Amada system, now overlooking the sliver and brown planet. Being back in the area where the first Normandy was ambushed and destroyed, was strange at best, bittersweet at worse. "There it is…" Joker said.

"I had hoped to never see that planet again" Kaiden said.

"You and me both…" EDI spoke up.

"Scans confirm the wreckage of SSV Normandy on the planet's surface. No life signs or mechanical activity detected. Stable landing zone located amid the crash site." She said.

Shepherd nodded. "Let's go guys" The team went to the shuttle.

The shuttle touched down on Alchera. The area was covered in blankets of white snow. Chunks of the Normandy were skewed all over the place. The team stepped out and saw the grave of their old ship, their home, the first Normandy. To see it like this, the once majestic ship that had saved the galaxy was almost too much to bear.

Garrus shook his head. "She deserved better than this…"

"I know, Garrus, Keelah I know…" The team spread out searching for their fallen team's dogtags. Shepherd went to the broken hull of the Normandy; memories soon flooded his mind of the day he gained command of the Normandy.

_**Two years ago, hours after becoming a spectre**_

_The four made it to c-sec's docks, when they met up with Anderson and Udina._

_"Shepherd..." Anderson simply said. Something wasn't right to Shepherd, the way Anderson was looking; he knew was wrong, he had known him too long to not notice._

_"Sir, what's wrong?" Shepherd said with had a sixth sense when it came to bad news, and usually he was right. "Garrus, Wrex, and Rookie, go to the ship, I'll catch up" he said seriously. Garrus and Wrex looked at each other, but went inside._

_"Yes, Commander" Garrus said with a salute._

_Wrex just nodded "Shepherd." He simply said._

_Tali was the last one to go inside, she was worried, Shepherd had a very serious look in his eyes, this could only end badly. She looked at Shepherd one last time; Shepherd gave her an assuring nod, before she went in. Shepherd was now alone with the two men, waiting for them to speak. "Shepherd, good news, Captain Anderson has chosen to step down as Captain of the Normandy."_

_Shepherd crossed his arms and glared at Udina. "Chose or forced?" he hissed. Anderson just put his hand on Shepherd's shoulders, before he started something with the ambassador._

"_The ship is yours, son" he said sadly._

_Shepherd shook his head. "This isn't right, Udina, Anderson is the rightful commander of the Normandy, and he should be on the mission too!" he said angrily. Udina had small sliver of smirk, and Shepherd narrowed his eyes, he was getting back at him for insulting him, this was his fault. "You bastard, if you're going to punish me, then punish me! But don't take it out on Anderson!"_

_Udina just gave a smug smirk. "Whatever do you mean, Shepherd?"_

_Shepherd glowed blue and approached him, he going to be glad to wipe that smirk off his face. Anderson then came in front of Shepherd and looked him in the eye. "Stand down, soldier, you know this is the right call, you know the ship and the crew." He ordered._

_Shepherd's shoulders slumped; this was painful to him, to see a man who saved his life, his second father treated like this, but as much as he hated what Udina did, he knew it was right call. "Now, Anderson I have something for you to do, now that you been assigned to me, I'll see you at my office" he said barely containing a smug smile. 'Fuck you, asshole' he thought angrily. Udina left leaving the two men._

_Anderson sighed. "Not the way I saw my retirement" he said. Shepherd looked at him, he knew his mentor didn't like the decision any more than Shepherd did, but he took it for the sake of his mission. Shepherd didn't fill right about doing this._

_Shepherd shook his head. "How can you be okay with this? This is your mission too" he said sadly._

_Anderson just looked at Shepherd "Look son, you became something that I failed at twenty years ago, you became the first human spectre, and you have the chance to do something good with it" He looked Anderson with a concerned look, he didn't seem convinced._

_"I'll be fine son, it's not like I'm dying, and I'll just have to learn to enjoy paperwork." He said. Shepherd chuckled a little at that. Anderson walked to the elevator, "This is you show now, make me proud" he said._

_Shepherd gave a sharp salute. "Yes sir" he said proudly. Anderson smiled as the elevator ascended. Shepherd made his way to Normandy with new determination. 'I promise sir, I will make this chance count.'_

Shepherd gave a sharp solute and found four dog tags and looked at them. "Your sacrifice wasn't in vain, rest easy my friends" he said.

Tali went and searched for the dog tags and came by a broken data pad. Her eyes went wide when she found who it belonged to.

"Pressly…" She started to read the data pad, even after two years, it still worked. Some of the data was corrupted and unreadable, but the messages can still be understood. He states that he'd gladly die for any one of the non-humans on the ship and that his previous doubts — namely his uncertainty directed at Shepard for allowing Tali, Liara, Garrus and Wrex on board — were written out of ignorance. She smiled, Pressly really did change, and to think he didn't share this mindset when she first came on board.

_**Two years ago, Normandy**_

_"What you say bosh'tet?!" Tali asked angrily_

_"You don't belong here, this is a human mission only" Pressly said. "We don't your kind here"_

_"I'm here because Shepherd wants me here!"_

_"How do we know you aren't sending schematics of the Normandy's technology back to your people? It's classified Alliance information!" He said. Tali clenched her fists; it was the same no matter where she was, the so-called beggar and the thief. Pressly had been hostile to the aliens from the beginning, but most of that had been pointed at her, she ignored at first, but there only so much you could take before the hostility got under your skin._

_"Listen you bosh'tet, I am NOT a thief!" She yelled out, pointing at Pressly, "I've never once stolen anything! Nothing! And I don't intend on stealing anything from the Normandy!"_

_Pressly snorted. "It's only words if you can't prove it to me" . The crew was getting nervous with their argument, if something wasn't done, a fist fight would ensue. A voice rang out, a very angry voice._

_"Hey, what the fuck is going on here?!" Shepherd asked angryly. Tali and Pressly was silent, almost afraid to say anything, Shepherd was most cool with people doing their own thing, he even didn't mind crew mates fraternizing among each other, but if the peace and stability of the team's unity was threaten, he could be scarier than any geth "Well?"_

_"Commander, I don't trust her, we all know about her people's reputation, plus we should do this alone!" Pressly said._

_"You arrogant Bosh'tet!"_

_"Enough, this is my ship Pressly, meaning she stays, if you don't like it you can transfer to another ship" Shepherd said._

_Pressly sighed. "Of course Commander..."_

_Tali smirked until Shepherd spoke up. "And since you two like wasting my fucking time arguing, you can two can make up that time with latrine duty" Tali and Pressly blinked._

_"W-what?!"_

_"B-but I didn't do anything!" Tali said._

_"My ship my rules…" Shepherd said with a smirk. "I would get it done now, oh and I do believe Wrex was in there not too long ago, enjoy..."_

Tali chuckled at the memory, at first she was so angry that she had to clean the toilets with Pressly but then after a while, she and Pressly started to talk, until he apologized, for his remarks, after that they soon became fast friends. She looked at the ground and saw four tags.

"You'll be home soon…"

Kaiden searched for the tags and saw the mako, its powerful guns were gone, and the wheels were gone. Amazingly enough the body of the tank was still intact even after two years; Kaiden rubbed his hand across the Mako. The old girl had served them well on their mission to stop Saren, despite being driven by a maniac.

_**Two years ago, Therum**_

_It had been three hours since touched down on the colony, and already they had to deal with the welcoming committee. Luckily, Shepherd's baby, the M-35 Mako, tore through the geth without any problems, although both Kaiden and Tali were complaining about his driving._

_"Backseat drivers…great" he muttered. The team made it to a natural blockade, and had to go on foot, much to Tali and Kaiden's relief. "Hey, my driving wasn't that bad." He complained. Tali and Kaiden glared at him._

_"A drunken varren could drive better than you, Shepherd." Tali said close to vomiting into her helmet. Kaiden nodded his head in agreement._

_"Oh haha" Shepherd said annoyed._

_"Maybe someone else should drive…next time" Kaiden said._

_Shepherd frowned and hugged the mako tightly. "No one's touching my baby but me"_

_Kaiden and Tali rolled their eyes at Shepherd's love for the tank, they would never understand how much he loved riding the tank, although, even he had to begrudgingly admit the Mako was a mixed blessing. It enabled him to jump the tank over obstacles and even a few rockets, a feat that would be impossible without the tank's element zero core. It could also compensate for variations in gravity between planets, ensuring that it'd handle the same way no matter where he drove it. However the light weight made it hard as hell to control, even with years of experience. "At least you fight better, than you drive." She teased._

Kaiden shook his head, smiling. He was still like that with Hammerhead. He then saw the tags at the foot of the tank and went to join the team. He saw Garrus, Tali, and Shepherd at the debris that used to be the mess room, Kaiden knew who they were thinking of…he walked up next to them.

"Ash…" The three nodded.

_**Two Years Ago, Virmire**_

_"Good we just need to get Ash and the STG and say good-bye to this kongkeku base" Tali said. Shepherd nodded and opened the comm to contact the distraction team; sounds of battle could be heard._

_"Ash?" Shepherd asked. "The nuke is almost ready, get to the rendezvous point!" There was static for a minute, and the team looked on worried about their comrade. "Ash!"_

_"Negative, Skipper," Ash said "The geth have us pinned down at the AA tower. We're taking heavy casualties. Captain Kirrahe is dead!" More guns could be heard, and this time sounds of screaming. "We'll never make it to the rendezvous point!"_

_"Shit!" Shepherd said opening his comm. "Joker, get them out of there, now!"_

_"Negative, it's too hot! You can't risk it, we'll try to hold them off…" There was a break in the com._

_"It's okay Wayne, I need a couple of minutes to arm the nuke, go get them" Kaiden said._

_"You sure?" Shepherd asked._

_"Don't worry, we got this boss" Garrus said with a smirk. "You just get Ash out there"_

_Shepherd nodded. "Wrex and Tali, move out" he ordered. The team headed to the door to the right, only to be led to yet another fight. In this trench were three krogan, and a few Geth Hoppers._

_"Damn fakes" Wrex roared as mowed the first one down. The hoppers bounced between the walls and floors, like a life-size pinball making it hard for Shepherd and Tali to get a bead on the geth. Meanwhile, the battlemaster rammed one of the krogan clones against the wall, pummeling it, another clone tried to charge Wrex from behind. But the old veteran could see it coming a mile away and dodged, making it smash into its fellow clone. Wrex took his shotgun and killed them both at the same time._

_"Fucking geth, we don't have time for this!" Shepherd used his singularity field, catching the two hoppers. Shepherd then threw a grenade up to the field. "Rookie!" Tali raised her pistol and fired on the grenade, destroying the hoppers. The team made it to the elevator, and continued to the AA guns. The team then heard something large overhead._

_"Oh Keelah…" Tali gasped. A Geth Dropship flies overhead._

_"Damn, the geth are sending reinforcements" Wrex said. "And they're heading for the bomb site!" Shepherd opens his comm._

_"Kaiden, dropship heading your way, be ready!" Shepherd said._

_"Got it, Wayne, taking up defensive positions," Kaiden replied. The team could hear a loud roar from the comm. "Shit, it's here. It's starting to drop geth all over the place, Liara lock them down, Garrus sniper support, protect our crew!" The sound of gun fire then could be heard._

_"Can you hold them?" Shepherd asked._

_"No, the ship is still dropping enemy reinforcements. There's just too many of them." He sounded eerily calm, Shepherd swallowed hard, he had always known his best friend to be a cool customer, but the way he talked chilled him the bone. "I'm setting the nuke."_

_Shepherd frowned. "Dammit, Kaiden, that's not your call to make!" Shepherd said._

_"I know I'm sorry, but mission comes first you know that" he said sadly. "It's done, go get Ash, and get the hell out of here" The com then opened up._

_"Fuck that! We can handle ourselves. Go back and get the Lieutenant!" Ash said._

_"Damn it!" Shepherd cursed. This was not what he wanted. Both were insistent for him to go and save the other one. He wished he could save both, but there was no time to save both, he now had to make a choice, a choice between friends, the hardest choice in his life. Kaiden or Ashley, one would live and the other would die when the bomb goes off. Shepherd took a deep breath "Kaiden, stand by, we're coming to your position"_

_"But, Wayne…" Kaiden started._

_"Damn it Kaiden, don't make this decision any harder, please…" Shepherd said weakly._

_"I…I understand" Kaiden said._

_"Ash, I…I'm so…" Shepherd sadly._

_"Don't, I don't regret any thing" she said. "I know you'll catch Saren" Ash went silent as the battle on her front continued to rage. "Be good to her, Skipper, big sister's watching"_

_"Got ya" he choked._

_"Ash…" Tali said in tears._

_"Take care of him; someone needs to make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Ash said half-jokingly._

_"I will, Keelah Sa'lai" Tali said. The com closed._

_Shepherd slammed his fists on the rail. "GODDAMMIT!" He was angry at Ash's self-sacrifice, angry at the geth for having forced it, angry at Saren who led the geth. But now most of all he was angry at himself for having to make that choice. He felt his eyes hot and stinging, as his tears started drip to the ground._

_"Get a hold of yourself, Shepherd!" Wrex said. Shepherd and Tali looked at him. "You think Williams want to see you like this, you're our leader, and you have to make sure her sacrifice is worth it and that means making Saren pay" Shepherd nodded and wiped his eyes, Wrex was right, they had a mission to do, he could shed his tears later._

_Shepherd took a deep breath to compose himself. "Back to the bomb site" Shepherd ordered. _

"She'll be missed, always" Garrus said. The team nodded.

"How about here, you guys?" Shepherd asked looking back. The team smiled, they all agreed.

The four dragged the monument in front of the mess hall. The monument was of the Normandy flying with its jet stream used as a base. The team gave a sharp solute, and stood there for a moment. After a while they went back to the Shuttle, Shepherd was the last to go in, he stopped and took one last look.

"We will never forget you, rest easy, my brothers and sisters" he said softly. The shuttle went back to the Normandy.


	78. Chapter 67 Arrival pt1

_**Just two chapters left…As always review and comment.**_

**Chapter 67: Arrival pt.1**

Sounds could be heard one day on the Normandy, as the crew was having a party in celebration of the defeat of the Collectors. Since Shepherd was recovering from losing his arm and the mission with Project Overlord and the Shadow Broker, they never had gotten a chance for a party. And so by Shepherd's decree, they had the party, it was wild; if there was one thing the crew was known for it was partying really hard. Grunt and Lia was over in the corner listening to Zaeed's story. Jack was making out with Kelly until Miranda off-handily said something about her and the two had to be separated by their respective lovers. Thane and Samara sat to the side was just enjoying the energy, the two weren't exactly huge party goers.

Kasumi and Kaiden were dancing with some of the male members of the crew. Some of the very drunk female crew members tried to flirt with Garrus, while he was letting them down easy, meanwhile Legion was in the corner observing the behaviors of its organic crew members. Tali had her head on Shepherd's shoulder as the two lovers were watching party.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves" Tali said with a smile.

"Yeah, well they deserve it, they worked hard these last few months" Shepherd said. Then someone spoke up.

"Hey Mordin, do that song you did one time"

Tali looked at Shepherd. "Mordin can sing?"

"That's news to me…" Mordin got up and the crew looked at him curiously.

"I am the very model of a scientist salarian, I've studied species turian, asari and batarian" he sung. The room got silent as they listened to Mordin, to say some of them were shocked was an understatement. Shepherd blinked, that was Gilbert and Sullivan's Major-General's Song, he hadn't heard that song since he was a little kid. His mom was huge fan of their patter songs, but this one was especially her favorite, she used to sing it all the time when she was grading papers. The way Mordin sung it he enjoyed Gilbert and Sullivan also, Shepherd chuckled, if his mom was still alive she would have liked Mordin. Mordin continued his modified version of the song.

"I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology) because I am an expert (which I know is a tautology)

"My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian, I am the very model of a scientist salarian" After Mordin was finished, the crowd erupted in cheers as Mordin finished his song. Tali and Shepherd was cheering along with them, until Shepherd omni-tool beeped, it was a message from Hackett.

Tali sighed. "Go on…" she whined.

Shepherd smiled and kissed her. "Don't worry I'm sure it's nothing, I'll be back soon rookie" He went back to their cabin and pressed a few buttons. The room got dark as a large image of Hackett appeared on the haloscreen.

Shepherd gave a sharp salute. "Sir!"

Hackett raised his hand. "At ease Commander, I need to discuss a sensitive matter with you" He said. "Are you alone?"

"Yeah, what's this about?"

"I'll make this brief, I'm sure you want to get back with Tali'Zorah"

Shepherd blinked. "How did you…?"

Hackett chuckled a little. "You're not the only one who's an old friend of the councilor" he said. He then got serious. "We have deep cover operative out in batarian space, name's Dr. Amanda Kenson"

Shepherd frowned. "A human in batarian space, that's a problem waiting to happen, what could be so important that you would send a human into hostile territory?"

"She found evidence of an imminent reaper invasion" Shepherd eyes grew wide and then grew angry.

"The Alliance knew about the reapers, this whole time?!" he asked. "Damn it, why didn't you tell the council or the populace?! We could have been prepared instead of me running around like a fool!"

Hackett stayed calm. "We couldn't risk panic, and besides there is still a lot bad blood from the fact humanity got a seat on the council, any move we made to confirm your report would have discredited the Alliance" Shepherd knew he was right, humanity just got their seat on the council, they couldn't do anything to jeopardize that. Telling the truth about the reapers, would have made the Alliance look like a bunch of conspiracy theorist, giving the other races who felt that humanity don't deserve it ammo. Shepherd sighed; this was why he hated politics…

"Shit…fine, okay details"

"Just this morning, Kenson was arrested by the batarians; they're holding her on charges on terrorism" Shepherd snorted at the irony of that statement, a race of terrorists complaining about terrorism, it would be funny if it wasn't so insulting. Hackett continued. "I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out"

"Right, I'll gather my team and…"

"No team, I need you to go alone"

"You're shitting me right? You expect me to go without back-up" Shepherd said in disbelief.

"Kenson is a friend, you send a squad in there and they will kill her" Hackett said. "This is serious, Commander, tread lightly or don't go at all"

Shepherd sighed. "This reaper proof better be good…"

"She found a reaper artifact in batarian space, evidence that their planning on invading" he said. "I've known Amanda a long time, if she has proof, then it is worth checking out"

"Then it's a priority"

"The prison is on Aratoht, I'll upload the coordinates now" Hackett said. "Good luck"

_"Nothing is impossible," says the Hegemony propaganda poster that depicts a muscular batarian miner under an Aratoht sky, his rebreather held away from his face as if he's just taken it off. The image sums up millions of man-hours of labor on the batarian planet and represents (or misrepresents) much of its history. Two decades ago, Aratoht, like several planets in the Skyllian Verge, was claimed by both human and batarian governments, but the Alliance backed out after learning about the atmosphere's dangerously low pressure and oxygen levels. Instead, they concentrated their colonial efforts on planets that could support human life without the aid of domed habitats and rebreathers. Human governments saw it as a wise move; batarians saw it as cowardly._

_The batarians rose to the colonization challenge, shipping in large numbers of laborers. They took the high financial costs and casualties due to accidents or logistical snafus in stride. Large-scale dumping of cyanobacteria has increased the oxygen in the atmosphere by a fraction of one percent, a modest increase that the Hegemony trumpets as a sign of their eventual victory. Short-term profits on Aratoht are largely made in the minerals sector through mining the extremely metal-rich planetary crust. The dark side to the mining does not appear on the propaganda poster - the majority of laborers are indentured servants or slaves._

_Aratoht is rumored to have military bases on its surface and throughout its solar system, though details are heavily restricted by the Hegemony's Ministry of Information Control. Human merchant ships rarely come to the planet, outcompeted by local companies that benefit from heavy economic protections. The average Aratoht citizen only sees humans on the news, usually featured in stories of trials and executions of accused spies-Codex._

The Normandy was in the Bahak system behind Aratoht's moon, with the stealth systems on. Shepherd was in his cabin finishing pitting on his armor, while Tali was in the room pacing and cursing in Keelish. When he told his girlfriend about the mission, she was livid, she wanted to go with him but Shepherd refused. He gave his word to Hackett that he would do this alone and he would not go back on it. Besides, Shepherd couldn't risk the batarians killing Kenson before he could rescue her. He stood up and put on his recon hood, it had excellent visual programs since he was going to go down at night, plus the batarian wouldn't recognize his face.

"I don't like this…" Tali said.

"Tali…"

"No, no Tali…how could that bosh'tet ask you to do this?" she asked.

"It has something to do with the reapers, you know I have to do this" Shepherd said softly.

Tali lowered her head. "Damn it Wayne, I lost you two years ago and I almost lost on the collector base….I can't bear…." She sobbed softly.

Shepherd held her tightly. "I know, sayang, that's why I went to ask Kasumi if I could borrow her stealth cloak" He held up her head. "I'm not taken any chances with this one, I promise you I will come back"

"Saya sayang kamu" Tali said softly. Shepherd slid his hood up, he then took off her helmet and kissed her lips.

"Saya sayang kamu, Jiwa"

The Kodiak dropped Shepherd off and then quickly departed. Shepherd looked around; the place was desolate as the batarian people, in the spectre's mind it was fitting. It was nighttime on the planet, which meant there would less guards to deal with. As an added bonus, it was also raining hard which made it less likely for the Batarians to see him. But that was outside, inside would be much trickier, lights and cramped spaces made stealth tricky, however that was where his cousin's stealth cloak came it.

Shepherd sighed. "Time to do this" Shepherd activated his cloak and went inside after he cut the power to the locked door. As he walked he saw a varren and went as far away as he could to keep the fish-dog from smelling him. He went in deeper and saw bodies in a pit, he looked at down the hole and saw varren feasting to the corpses. In the same hole, he heard some screaming and multiple growls, the sounds brought a chill to his spine, the batarian didn't even wait for the prisoners to die before throwing them down the pit. "Fucking blinks…."

As he went along he notice how decrepit the place was like it has seen a war the ground was rubble, some of the wiring was worn by age, and the pipes of gas were broken creating a barrier of flames. "This place is run down, even for a prison, I can only shudder at what kind of conditions the doctor is in" Shepherd said as he cut the power to the security systems. He went deeper into the prison, this time it wasn't as worn down as earlier it was the dining and living area. The batarians must kept there more important prisoners up top for their 'questioning. He went outside, where he could hear two batarians speaking.

"They still got her down in the VIP section"

"I say kill the human, interrogating them is a waste of time" the other one said.

"I don't think so, didn't you hear? Zolak is interrogating her…"

The first batarian laughed. "If that's the case, she's going wish she was dead" Shepherd frowned, this Zolak guy sound like one nasty customer, he had to hurry. He rolled across to the other side and climbed the cargo truck and up to the upper level. He went inside, where there was a lot of batarian guards walking around, with this much security walking around Shepherd knew he was getting close. Shepherd activated the stealth cloak, walked through the halls, careful not make a noise or trigger an alarm. To the spectre's surprise, despite being a high security area, their systems were quite easy to hack…one hack and he was in the watch room, which meant the next room was the interrogation room. He came behind one of the batarians watching the interrogation from a one-way window; he grabbed him behind covering the guard's mouth to keep it as quiet possible. One blow from his artificial arm, and her was knocked out. He went around the corner; there Shepherd could hear voices from the other side of the door. A man and woman could be heard.

"Get your hands off me!"

"You will tell me why you are here"

"I told you, research"

"Don't lie! We saw the reports when we captured you, you were going to destroy a mass relay" the guard said. "Now, why?"

Shepherd opened the door, and saw the interrogator activating a device and starts to aim it at Kenson's head. Shepherd snuck up behind the man and guts him with his omni-blade.

"W-who are you?"

Shepherd reappeared. "A friend of Admiral Hackett, I'm here to get you out"

"Thank god, I knew Stephen would come through" Kenson said. The alarm sounded, Shepherd frowned and looked at the batarian he killed, when he tossed the body away he didn't notice that a silent alarm was on his person. He cursed himself for his carelessness, and went to free Kenson.

"I would ask you about your evidence, but I think we need to get the hell out" Shepherd said. "How good are you at fighting?"

"Not good, but I can hack the terminals to give us an escape path" she said. Shepherd went to the dead batarian and took a pistol off his body after all he didn't need it. He gave the gun to Kenson.

"I'll take what I can get, let's go" Kenson and Shepherd escaped making their way to the elevator room, that room led to the hangar just below where they can take the shuttle out of here. However the batarians were not going to make it easy on them. The loudspeaker sounded.

"The ringleader escaped! Get off your asses and stop them!" They fought their way to the elevator room, but found that the batarians disabled the elevators. Kenson ran to the terminal.

"Keep them busy, I'll need time to activate the elevators" she said. Shepherd nodded. The batarians flooded into the room from the side and open fired. Shepherd used his singularity and threw them of the ledge. More came in, this time behind him making him change cover and countered with a blast from his Hydra. He then saw more batarians, using a separate emergency elevator, along with the doors from behind and side, they were surrounded…

"Fuck, I miss the team already!"

_**Saya sayang kamu: I love you in Keelish**_

_**Jiwa: Keelish for 'my heart and hope'**_


	79. Chapter 68: Arrival pt2

_**One chapter left…as always review and comment**_

**Chapter 68: Arrival pt.2**

Shepherd used his dominate to lighten his load, while the batarian guards were fighting amongst each other Shepherd checked on Kenson. She was still on the terminal trying to get the elevator to work. One of the batarians ran to her ready to fire on her, Shepherd hit him back with a throw field where he slammed into his allies. More batarians come from his left; he used his singularity field at the door way to keep them away and then detonated it with warp field. Another came to his right, and he froze them with a stasis bubble. Shepherd looked back Kenson.

"If you can hurry up, that would be great" Shepherd said annoyed.

"Almost there, and….there" Kenson said. "The elevator is ready" They could hear the unmistakable sound of machinery humming and groaning. Shepherd took out his shotgun and blasted the frozen batarians.

"Stay close" Shepherd and Kenson went to the elevator in the center of the open area all the while being fired at by the batarians. Shepherd raised his barrier to protect Kenson from gunfire, Kenson sabotaged their gun causing it to overload and explode. More come from the emergency elevators, firing from behind, Shepherd threw the batarians off the ledge. They went down the elevator; the batarians were above them firing at them, they were sitting ducks without cover…Shepherd created a biotic dome around them, repelling the bullets. Kenson once again sabotaged their weapons making them useless; the spectre froze them giving them time for the elevator to get to the shuttle bay. The elevator landed in the shuttle bay, where they were met with heavy resistance. They ran to the shuttle, with batarian heavies and engineers fired on them; on stray missile almost hit the shuttle before Shepherd pushed it away where it hit an unlucky Engineer.

"Get down" Kenson took cover and Shepherd brought out his Hydra, he pulled the trigger and the multiple missiles hit the batarians. "Get in!" Kenson went into the shuttle, while Shepherd covered her rear.

"Commander to your right!" she said. Two more heavies fired their rockets at the spectre, he ducked where it hit the hanger door and blasted them open. Shepherd lifted the enemies with a singularity field and blasted them with his Hydra. The missiles sent the batarians flying; the spectre then went to the shuttle.

"More are coming!"

Shepherd went to the pilot seat and starts the shuttle's engines "Forget them, we're out of here!" Kenson nodded and closed the shuttle doors and took a seat in the back. More batarians enter the shuttle bay, Shepherd activated the thrusts, burning the batarians behind them to a crisp. The shuttle flies out of the hangar, while the prison was in chaos, and left the planet.

Meanwhile, back on the Normandy, the crew was on pins and needles waiting to see what happened to their leader, especially Tali. Before Shepherd left, he told the crew to maintain com silence so the batarian couldn't trace back to the Normandy for when he got caught. However, he told Joker to track him, when they got off of the planet in case the batarians gave chase. Although Shepherd had planned into advance, anything could happen, that's what worried Tali.

"Come on, Tali he'll be fine, just calm down" Kasumi said. Tali ignored her and kept on pacing. Kaiden walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Kasumi's right, Wayne's the best of the best, he'll get out of there" Kaiden said.

Tali calmed a little. "Okay…" Joker spoke up.

"Guys I got a signal from the Commander's omni-tool, he's on the move"

The team gave collective sighs of relief. "He made it off-world with Dr. Kenson, Joker follow closely just in case" Kaiden said.

"Got it"

Back on the shuttle, Shepherd activated the auto pilot; he went to the back and Kenson fixing herself up with medi-gel. She had a busted lip; some bruises around her eyes and cheeks. Shepherd was impressed the older woman, she been through a lot and yet was taking it in stride. She finished patching herself up and looked at Shepherd. "Thank you Commander, I didn't know how much more I could take…" Shepherd nodded, Kenson got up and went to the radar there was no activity which meant the batarians wasn't following. "We should be safe; it will take a while for the Batarians to unscramble their systems"

"You sure?" Shepherd asked.

"I'm not taking any chances, batarians don't too kindly to humans destroying their mass relays" she said.

Shepherd's eyes went wide. "So the charges were true"

"Yes, but that's only half the story" Kenson said sitting down. "My people and I have uncovered rumors of Reaper technology out in the edges of this system, and went to check it out…and found a reaper artifact, we call it Object Rho"

"How bad is it that it warrants destroying a mass relay?"

"If the reapers use the relay in this system, then they can invade anywhere in the galaxy" she said. "Because of that, we call the relay the Alpha relay"

"So you decided to destroy it" Shepherd said. "But I thought the relays couldn't be destroyed"

"They can, it's just no one is willing to find out what happens when you do destroy one" Kenson said. "By destroying the relay, it will delay the invasion by months or years"

"Giving us time to prepare"

"Exactly, we call this endeavor Project Arrival; we take a small asteroid and ram it into relay, destroying it before they can appear"

Shepherd frowned, he agreed about delaying the reapers, but the method was not to his liking. "I don't know about this, destroying something as powerful as a mass relay…"

Kenson sighed. "It is exactly as you think; destroying the relay would be the end of this system" she said. "In this system, 300,000 batarians live on a colony not far from the rely; the explosion would kill them all"

Shepherd shook his head. "Kenson, what you are going to do goes far beyond a terrorism charge, it's a full-blown war crime"

"We know, but sometimes to save to all you must be willing to sacrifice the few, however after it is done we plan on telling the colony to evacuate" Kenson said. "Once the project starts, it will take some time before the asteroid reaches the speed needed to destroy the relay, there should be time for the batarians to escape the system.

Shepherd sighed, it was better than nothing. "Take me to the artifact, and then we can decide then" Kenson nodded. The shuttle approaches a very large asteroid and then enters a hangar inside of a large complex on the surface of it. As Kenson and Shepherd exit the shuttle, Kenson welcomes the Commander to Project Base. Shepherd looked around and saw a clock counting down.

"What's this?"

"Our countdown to arrival, when it reaches zero the reapers will come" Kenson said. "We have two days, that's how desperate it has become"

Shepherd looked at her. "Two days? How?"

"Object Rho can be something a beacon, the closer the reapers are, more the artifact glows, they are coming make no doubts about that"

"Then we can't waste anytime"

Kenson then takes the Commander to the proof. She points to the door and says that it exits the hangar and that the artifact is in the central lab area. While walking through the complex, Shepherd asks what it will take to get the project back up and running. Kenson says that everything was ready to go and it wasn't a question of "could they" but rather "should they". Shepherd not sure of this plan then asks if there were any alternatives. Kenson shook her head saying that the Reapers would get here regardless; the relay was their shortcut to the rest of the galaxy, after that it would be two or three jumps till they reached the Citadel. Shepherd frowned; destroying a whole star system was bad enough, but that paled in comparison to the havoc the reapers could do if they took the Citadel. Shepherd and Kenson made it to the artifact room; he looked with horror at what was in the middle of the room.

"Commander Shepherd, I give you Object Rho"

"You idiot! You have a reaper artifact just lying here in the open?!" Shepherd asked.

"When we found it, it showed me a vision of the reaper's arrival…" Her demeanor changed and she gave a chilling grin. The people around the artifact all stopped what they were doing and looked at Shepherd, they were all indoctrinated.

"Shit…" Shepherd said backing up.

The object glows and a short vision emerge of the Reaper Fleet approaching the relay, and then Shepherd dropped to his knees, his head was throbbing from the vision. The spectre then heard the clicking of a gun he looks back and sees Kenson pointing her Shuriken at Shepherd. The scientist left the room, as he hears the sound of running and out of the corner of his eyes, were multiple soldiers in black armor heading towards them.

"I can't let you start the project; you will not stop the Arrival!" She said with a manic grin.

As Shepherd tries to stand up, the Project Guards draw their weapons but then he springs up, disarms Kenson by breaking her wrist. The project guards fired and Shepherd takes cover in the corner while Kenson orders the men to take the Commander down while she limps out. "Take him down!" Shepherd tried to fire at Kenson, but the door closed. He then focused his attention to the guards as he fought five waves. Shepherd held his own in the fight, but the debilitating effects of the vision left him in a bad state. A YMIR mech appeared in front of him, but Shepherd was too weak to fight back.

"Shit…" he said weakly. Shepherd collapsed on the ground, the last thing he sees before blacking out was Kenson and some personnel will come over to his downed body with glowing eyes.

"Take him to the med bay and patch him up" Kenson said. "We want him alive" Shepherd blacks out. Back on the Normandy, them was wait for a message from Shepherd, the com broke through.

"Kaiden, Tali, we have a problem, I lost Shepherd's omni-tool signal" Joker said.

"What? How?" Kaiden asked.

"I don't know, one minute we have him, and then poof, he's gone"

"Keelah, Wayne!" Tali said worried.

Kaiden frowned. "EDI prep the shuttle, Joker tell Garrus and Kasumi to meet us in the docking bay" he said. "Tali, let's go" The Quarian nodded, and they walked over to the elevator.

"Uh, Kaiden we have another problem" Joker said.

"What is it now?"

"Sensors indicate the base's weapons are online and targeting us" EDI said.

"What? They're Alliance, why would they fire on us?!" Joker asked.

"Unknown, but we should probably run now…" she said.

"Shit…" Kaiden growled.

"Taking evasive maneuvers, hang on!" Joker said. The Normandy dodged the incoming volley of fire. Meanwhile Shepherd comes to, he looks around and found himself in a lab; it sort of resembled the lab he woke up in at the Lazarus Research Station. "My head…" Shepherd said. As his sight returned, he saw that his armor was gone and he was in his civilian clothes. His weapons were gone also, but at least he still had his omni-tool, or at least they didn't his omn-tool was integrated with his artificial arm. On his left side was woman walking around with a data pad in her hand.

"…like Shepherd is starting to wake up, but it must be a glitch in the system" a woman said. They were studying him, possibly trying to indoctrinate him like the others in the station since the artifact couldn't do it. The spectre growled when he thought of that, there was no way he was going to become the reaper's slave, he would die first before that happened. Shepherd got up and glared at the woman, she turned around and her eyes went wide. "No glitch! The sedatives aren't working!" She ran out the room, as two guards came into the room. "Security!"

Shepherd jumps off the table, and proceeds to knock out the two guards before being trapped by a barrier. And the scientist gave a smug smile, but Shepherd gave one back and raises his artificial arm at the barrier, the barrier cracked with energy and fell. "Thank god for rookie…." He said softly. Shepherd walked out and looked at the scientist; the woman cowered in the corner in fear as he equips his armor and weapons. He walked out not saying a word only to meet a group of armed guards in front of him. They looked nervous.

Shepherd sighed "You know I thought I would be more pissed" He started eerily calm. The guards looked at each other, nervously; despite being indoctrinated they could still feel fear. Good, after the crap he's been through, he wanted them feel fear. "I saved one of your own, and you tried to indoctrinate me, you then drug me and now you're trying to kill me"

Shepherd then gave a chilling laugh. "I should be incredibly pissed, but I'm not…" The guards raised their guns. Shepherd's omni-blade activated, "Or maybe I'm so pissed, that I've come full circle, oh well…it doesn't really matter now, because in the next few minutes you will all die!" The com spoke up.

"Shepherd escaped! All personnel to the medical wing!" Kenson said. "Don't let him start the project!"

Shepherd gave a feral grin. "You heard the lady" He rushed the guards and gutted them all with his blade. He looked back at the woman. "If you know what good for you, you'll tell you friends to stay out of my way, is that clear?"

The woman nodded. "Good girl" he looked at his omni-tool. "Two hours left, those bastards kept me here longer than I thought"

Shepherd went to start the Project.


	80. Chapter 69: Arrival pt3

_**This is it the final chapter for Mass Effect 2: Beauty and the Beast. For all of you who followed me from the beginning thank you from the bottom of my heart. **_

_**And I hope to see you for miniseries Before the Storm and Part 3 of the B&TB saga. I'm taking commissions so if you have any requests or ideas I should use for the miniseries private message me. **_

_**And as always, Review and Comment. **_

**Chapter 69: Arrival pt.3**

The guards came at Shepherd with ferocity taking pot shots as the spectre took cover, he was close to the control room, although it took some work to get there. Kenson did a good job of keeping him away, with lock passages, taking control of elevators and leading him into squads of enemies. Shepherd used his singularity field to lift the guards and sent them flying with a warp field. Shepherd went forward to the main area, meanwhile as went to the project room, Kenson and her people were organizing the guards to get an advantage over the spectre. However, that was all moot went he was slaughtering the guards…

"Tomas…Maxwell… report!" one of the guards said on the radio. "No answer Dr. Kenson"

Kenson growled. "Shepherd's past them, all personnel stop him!" The radio broke through; sounds of chaos could be heard.

"Doctor, send back up, Shepherd is tearing us apart!" a guard said before the radio abruptly cut off. Kenson slammed her fist on the table.

"Idiots! It's just one man!" Kenson said. "Secure the project control room! Don't let him Shepherd in there!"

"Initiating maximum security protocols!"

Shepherd entered the mess hall and took cover for the heavy weapons. Shepherd used his dominate to take control of the heavy weapon user. The Heavy fired on his allies sending them flying. The spectre then used his incineration blast on a canister nearby, killing the heavy user. He went into the next room, where he faced two pyros, and three engineers. The engineers summoned their drones to flush him out of cover, Shepherd fired on the drones not paying attention to one of the pyros flanking him. The pyro pulled the trigger and Shepherd fell back as his shield went down. The two drones came at him; Shepherd drained the drone's energy, recharging his shields.

The pyro fired his flamethrower, and the spectre dodged behind cover he then overloaded his tank, making him explode. The other pyro flanked Shepherd from behind, but this time the spectre was ready. A large stream of flames headed for Shepherd and he rolled to the side then took out his omni-blade and slashed the tanks. He kicked him away and ignited the leaking tank, causing him to burn alive. The engineers fired at Shepherd, he took out his hydra and fired, the missiles impacted their locations killing them instantly. Shepherd went into the control room.

"Doctor he's in the control room!"

Kenson slammed her fists on the desk. "NO! Send in the last batch of guards! I'll deal with this" She got up from her seat only to be rocked hard. "What was that?!"

"All of the weapons are almost destroyed, it's the Normandy!"

"Activate the missile systems"

"It won't have any effect on their shields"

"I don't care! No one is stopping the arrival!" Kenson ran out of the room. In the next room, Shepherd met with some more pyros, three project elite guards and an engineer. The pyros blasted him with a stream of flames to drain his tech armor; the armor detonated pushing him back. One of the elite guard shot Shepherd in the arm, and his allies opened fired, forcing him into cover. Shepherd look around cover and saw the engineer summoning his drone to flush him out. Shepherd used his energy drain to replenish his shields and drone disappeared, he then shot the engineer in the head with his pistol. The pyros fired his flamethrower; Shepherd dodged and threw him to the elite guards. He then used his overload to take out the pyro and his allies. He got the project terminal and a bluish-green VI appeared.

"Welcome to Project Control"

"Activate the project" Shepherd said.

"Warning: Activating the Project will result in an estimated three thousand and five hundred casualties. Do you wish to continue?" Shepherd hesitated a moment, he didn't like the batarians, in fact he hated them for Mindoir, but he didn't want to wipe them out. On the hand, with hours to go until the reapers arrival, he couldn't hesitate. He took a deep breath.

"Do it" Shepherd was rocked lightly as the sirens sounded throughout the base, the project was a go. Shepherd opened a com, and sent it across the system to warn them. He didn't know if the batarian's would listen, but he had to try, he wasn't going to have the blood of three hundred thousand people on his hands. "Alert: all colonists in the Bahak system. This is…" The com was shut off. "No!"

Shepherd tried desperately to get the com back on, but he was locked out. The asteroid was on move and he couldn't warn them. The project screen was replaced with an image of Kenson. "You fool! Have you any idea what you have done?"

Shepherd frowned. "Do you? You just condemned 300,000 people to death!"

"You leave me no choice. If I can't stop this asteroid then I will destroy it!"

"Tell me where to find Kenson"

"Dr. Kenson is traveling to the reactor core module" the VI said.

"An eezo core meltdown will do it, because of you; everyone on this rock will die!"

"They won't if I get to you first" Shepherd went to confront Dr. Kenson. Meanwhile Shepherd went to stop Kenson, the Normandy crew had their own problem. The missile turrets fired at the ship and the Normandy dodged. EDI activated the main guns and destroyed two of the turrets. The ship shook as the Normandy took damage from the side.

"Damn these guys are annoying!" Joker said.

"Alert: missiles incoming!"

"EDI fire the big guns" The Normandy activated its main cannon and fires at the missiles and the beam went on to destroy the rest of the base's weapons. A beep could be heard.

"Holy…Kaiden!" Joker said.

"What is it? Did you find Wayne?" he asked.

"Yeah, his omni-tool signal came back on minutes ago" he said. "But we need to get him, like now!"

"What's wrong is he hurt?" Tali asked concerned.

"No he's safe, but not for long, the base is on an asteroid and we got readings it's moving" Joker said. "For a head collision with Bahak system mass relay"

"Oh Keelah…" she said in horror.

"Full speed ahead! Get Wayne out of there!" Kaiden said.

"Aye, aye!" The Normandy flew to the now moving asteroid. Back on the base, Shepherd walks through the reactor control room, where the Commander encounters Kenson. Kenson was at the terminal trying to trigger a meltdown; her eyes were manic as she accessing the systems. Luckily the eezo systems had failsafe after failsafe to make it hard tamper with, which made it easy for Shepherd to catch up to her. Shepherd drew his gun and fired at her, barely missing her head, a warning shot.

"It's over, Kenson!"

Kenson voice was unhinged, any remnant of Admiral Hackett's friend was now gone and was now replaced by a slave of the reapers. "You ruined everything! I can't hear the whispers anymore!"

"Step away the console and turn the fuck around, now!" Shepherd growled.

"You've taken them away from me; I will never see the Reaper's arrival!" She said franticly. She turned around to reveal the trigger to a bomb.

Shepherd's eyes went wide. "Shit, Kenson don't do it!"

"FOR THE GLORY OF THE REAPERS!" She presses the detonator, instantly dying in the explosion with the resulting force knocking Shepherd back. He hit the wall hard and blacked out, moments later the rumbling of the asteroid had woke him up. When he got up, Shepherd felt a sharp pain as his side; the force of the explosion did more damage than he thought.

"Shit, my ribs…" he said painfully. He injected himself with a syringe of medi-gel for the pain; his cybernetics would have to pick up the slack for healing until he got back to the Normandy.

"Warning: Collision imminent" Shepherd got up and went to the console.

"Joker, this is Shepherd I need transport now!" he said.

"Communication system damage" the VI said.

"Fuck!"

"Evacuation protocols in effect! All personnel to escape shuttles!" The VI said.

"Where's are the shuttles?"

"Take the lift from this room to the external access, from there proceeds to the communications tower" Shepherd ran to the access port to the outside of the asteroid where the guards ran to the shuttle, even when indoctrinated some things were just absolute like fear. The Alpha Relay provided a nice backdrop to a battle with eight Project Guards that decided to stay behind just to kill Shepherd, luckily it last long as the spectre just shot them into space with his throw field. The mass relay grew larger across Shepherd's field of view as the asteroid approaches it. After taking care of the guards, he ran towards the tower, only to find the last shuttle to fly away.

"Shit!" Shepherd said. He looked around for anything he could use, he saw a com tower to his right, with the right channel he could contact the Normandy and get out of the system before it goes. The spectre got to the communication tower. "I hope the Normandy's listening" Shepherd pressed some buttons.

"External comm channel open"

"Shepherd to Normandy, if you're there I could really use a ride, like now!" There was only static, Shepherd wasn't a religious man, but he praying the Normandy got the message. While he was waiting for a response, out of the corner of his eye, he could see a hologram in the shape of a reaper.

"Harbinger…"

"SHEPHERD, YOU ARE BECOMING AN ANNOYANCE" it said.

Shepherd smirked, it sounded pissed, and somehow it made him feel good that he can get under the skin of something as ancient as a reaper. "Good, then I guess I'm doing my job"

"YOU FIGHT AGAINST INEVITABILITY. DUST STRUGGLING AGAINST COSMIC WINDS" Harbinger said. "YOU SEE THIS AS A VICTORY, A STAR SYSTEM SACRIFCED, BUT EVEN NOW, YOUR CIVILIZATION IS DOOMED TO FALL, YOUR LEADERS WILL BEG TO SERVE US"

"You think we're scared of you, but we're not, we will fight regardless"

"KNOW THIS AS YOU DIE IN VAIN; YOUR TIME WILL COME. YOUR SPECIES WILL FALL"

"You underestimate just how vicious and crazy my people can be when we're backed into a corner" Shepherd said. "So let me educate you, we poisoned our air and water to weed out the weak! We set off fission bombs in our only biosphere! We nailed our God to a stick! In layman's terms: don't fuck with the human race!"

"CONFIDNCE BORN OF IGNORANCE, PREPARE FOR THE ARRIVAL" Harbinger's image disappeared. A com broke through.

"Shepherd, we're inbound for pickup"

"Took you guys long enough, I was getting bored" Shepherd said running to the edge. The Normandy comes swinging in and Shepherd jumps into the airlock. Joker then pilots a course through the Relay just before the asteroid hits it, completely destroying the relay. As the relay is blown apart, Shepherd could only watch as the giant shockwave moved across the system destroying planets, moons until the screen went red. And it was done the invasion was delayed, but at the cost three hundred thousand lives, in that instant he became a mass murderer.

"Wayne! You bosh'tet I was so worried about you!" Tali said as she wrapped her arms around him.

He kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, rookie" Shepherd then grew serious.

"Wayne?"

"I'm going to Chakwas for injuries, Joker, contact Hackett, he needs to hear this" Shepherd and Tali to the med bay, there he told Tali the whole story, as she was to get him back safely. She was very upset at what Hackett put her boyfriend through, and though Shepherd didn't show it destroying the system affected him deeply. It was the little things, like his body language. While he told the story, he barely looked at her, ashamed at was he done…Tali grasped his hand firmly.

She shook her head. "You shouldn't have gone through that!" she said angrily. "It's not fair…"

Shepherd sighed. "I know, but sometime life isn't fair" Hackett came in, as the old admiral approached Shepherd, Tali was staring daggers at him. Shepherd put his hand on her shoulder and calmed her down.

"Tali, Hackett and I are going to speak privately, I'll see you soon, okay"

"Okay" Tali looked at Hackett and brushed past him, leaving the med bay.

"I see someone is not happy with me…"

"That's an understatement, she did almost see her boyfriend die again" Shepherd said.

"I know and hopefully she will understand our life is not an easy one" Hackett said. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, no more visions" Shepherd said. "I got lucky…"

"Good, now what the hell happen down there? I sent you break Amanda out of prison and now she's dead and a whole system was wiped out"

Shepherd got up and gave him a data pad. "Your friend was right the reapers were coming in two days, destroying the relay was only way to stop them" He said. "I'm sorry about your friend, she was indoctrinated"

"I started the engines with a little more than an hour left, I tried to warn the batarian colonists, but…time ran out"

"The batarian report said there were no survivors, at least you tried."

Shepherd lowered his head. "Not good enough…" the spectre said.

"And the threat was real?"

"We had only minutes to spare" Shepherd said. "So what now?"

"I won't lie, Commander, the batarians will want blood, and a war with them is the last thing we need"

"I know, not with the reapers breathing down our backs"

"I know you did what you had to do, but in the end 300,000 batarians are dead and this will make the Alliance look bad" the admiral said.

"What's your suggestion?" Shepherd asked. He was not going to like the answer.

"Evidence is shoddy at best, but at some point, you will have to go to Earth and face the music" Hackett said. "I can't stop it, but I can make them fight for it"

Shepherd sighed. "I'll do it, but just promise me that you get the Alliance and the council prepared, I don't care if you have to go dirty to do it"

"I will try, though it will be an up-hill battle" he said walking away. "Do what you have to do, but when Earth calls, you make sure with your dress blues on, ready to take the hit"

"I will…" Hackett threw the data pad back to Shepherd. "Admiral?"

"Keep it, I don't need it to tell me you did the right thing"

Shepherd gave a sharp salute. "Yes sir!"

"You did a hell of a thing, Commander" Hackett walked away, leaving Shepherd with his thoughts of an uncertain future.

_**Four Months Later**_

After the meeting with Hackett, the Normandy crew went about their business like nothing happened or at least tried to. Samara had left the ship, to continue on seeking out injustices in the galaxy, Thane was next, wishing to see his son on the Citadel, and finally Zaeed was the last to leave, possibly looking for his next job. Four months had passed, Shepherd received a summons from the Alliance committee…the top brass of the military and so honoring his promises the crew made their way to Earth. Kaiden sighed. "Looks like it's time for us to face the music" he said.

"No, it will be just me, no one will get involved with my crime" Shepherd said.

"It's not your fault, Wayne, you only did it to save us" Tali said softly.

"And I may have caused things to get worse" he said. Shepherd then looked at Tali. "You sure about this, rookie?"

"Yes" She said. "You've been there for us, it's only right we are there for you too." Shepherd looked back as the Normandy crew all saluted. His friends, his family would not abandon him; he would not face this alone.

Tears ran down his cheeks as Tali hugged him. "Thank you, everyone, thank you" Shepherd choked.

"Everyone we're here" Joker said. Kaiden, Shepherd, and Tali went up to the cockpit and looked out the window.

"Keelah, your homeworld is beautiful…" she said. The three could only look in awe as they saw the sapphire colored planet.

"Rookie, welcome to Earth"


End file.
